When Abby Leaves
by LinaNamiStar
Summary: Abby finally confronts Gibbs about his love life. She tells him it's time he let go of Shannon and Kelly. Angered, Gibbs teaches her a lesson by transferring her to another NCIS location, but the lesson is something he may soon regret. Notably, Gabby.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any NCIS characters or anything that has anything to do with the series.

Spoilers: May or may not contain them.

Chapter One

"Gibbs, it's about time to let them go."

With that just sentence, things just turned upside down for the Gibbs' team. There, Gibbs yelled, at the innocent Abigail Sciuto. His fist banging on the table as he glared at Abby. Abby frowned but she stood her ground.

"Gibbs, I've been watching you going for one woman to another. It's time that you let them go. I don't want you to live all your life alone and dying alone," Abby said softly as she slowly reached her hand out to touch his shoulder but Gibbs immediately swapped her hand away.

She flinched while holding her hurt hand. Gibbs didn't seem to care this time. His eyes had been full of anger.

"This has nothing to do with you, Abbs! It's my life and I will do whatever I please," he told her angrily.

"That's just it, Gibbs. You do whatever you want, but you don't find something or someone you need. We have a bond Gibbs. I can't just sit here and do nothing."

Once more, Abby tried to reach Gibbs with her hand. He turned around immediately and pushed her against the wall.

"If you continue any more Abbs, I will not be lenient even to you," Gibbs growled angrily before letting you go. Abby's eyes started to brim with tears before she walked to the sliding door but did not leave just yet.

"Why is it that every time someone tells you to move on you would get angry? I don't know Shannon, but I think I can tell you that she must be really disappointed in you, Gibbs. I am disappointed in you," Abby told him one more time before she left her lab.

Without thinking, he reached for her Caf-Pow! and threw it at her computer. With fizzing sounds, sparks flying, and a loud bang, her computer was on fire and was destroyed.

Nonetheless, Gibbs put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. He then threw the extinguisher on the ground in anger and looked up at the ceiling. He looked just about hurt as any normal person, almost looked as if tears started to brim through his eyes. He blinked, not letting those tears form as he fell to the ground, stilling staring at the ceiling.

This was the first time Abby confronted him about this and it hurt even more when she is (or was) his favorite. He felt really betrayed by her. How could she tell him to move on when he didn't want to? She didn't have the right. No one did, not even his ex-wives, ex-lovers, ex-girlfriends, or whatever they were. The only two people that would have a say would be his dead wife and daughter.

"_You left me with no choice, Abbs. I say what I would do_," he thought before leaving and going into the Director's office.

A day later, Abby was sent to the Director Vance's office. Abby sighed and knew well enough what was going to happen. She cried the day before when Gibbs completely ignored her and whispered to her that she had given him no other choice. That was enough to send Abby to a crying frenzy all by herself in her apartment. She even got texted this morning that she had to go directly to the Director's office without delay.

On her floor, she found two people in her lab. They were already working in there, which angered Abby greatly. She wanted to yell at them but held her tongue. She could even feel the tears forming in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them. After seeing this, Abby knew well that she would work for another team or transported to another location of NCIS. She continued on her way after she watched enough.

She looked over at her team's floor. No one was in just yet, but she smiled a small sad smile. The elevator suddenly dinged and she turned back to see Gibbs with his coffee at hand. She stared at him for a bit and he did so as well. They said nothing, much to Gibbs' surprise even Abby was surprised that she became speechless herself. Before he was about to speak, Abby turned around and spoke first.

"Even if you dislike it when I confronted you, I never will apologize or regret what I said or did. I hope you're happy with your new forensic scientist, Special Agent Gibbs," she told him before going up the stairs to the office.

Gibbs walked to his desk and put down his coffee to the side. He stared at his computer, not looking at anything particular. Sometimes, he would glance several times at the Director's office. He had to be strong. He needed to punish her for going against him, even if she is his favorite. She went too far at the delicate subject, and he couldn't let her get away with it this time.

It was an hour and half before she got out of the Director's office while holding a box. By that time, the team had already been present. She saw Tony picking on McGee and Ziva watching the whole thing while chuckling. She even saw Gibbs drinking his coffee. She lowered her head a bit and closed her eyes to concentrate on something before she looked up again with a big smile on her face. She started skipping down the stairs and stopped in front of the Gibbs' team.

"Hey everyone!" Abby said cheerfully before the whole team looked up at her. They noticed her and the box. McGee's mouth opened wide, Tony stood up, and Ziva's eyes opened wide. Since Gibbs knew beforehand, he became expressionless.

"What's going on?" McGee asked.

"Tell me that box isn't what I think it is for," Tony said.

"If it is, I'll have a talk with the Director," Ziva told her. Abby shook her head and sighed.

"Well, Tony, I can't say for sure but yes I think it is. I'm sorry everyone, but I've just been transferred to another location. Actually, it's at my birthplace. Director Vance wanted me to be there to help out since over there was new. He thought it was best that I helped them out and stuff," Abby told them.

"Is this... temporary?" McGee asked.

Abby smiled before she answered with a long pause. This hinted everyone at the answer. Tony, McGee, and Ziva looked over at their boss, noticing he had said nothing. They hoped he was thinking of way to get Abby to stay. He continued to say nothing. So instead, Abby spoke up again.

"The good news is that I may be transferred back here if NCIS: Lousiana no longer needs me." She noticed the expressions on their faces, notably Gibbs. She then puts down her box and smiled once more.

"And how long will that be? Days, weeks, months, years? And what if they don't want you to leave? That means you'll be there as long as that place stands," Tony said unhappily.

"But why would there be an NCIS location in Lousiana?" McGee asked.

"Because, McGee, we need to put NCIS locations in other places secretly to solve cases when necessary. It's only a test run to see how well it does and if it helps at all," Director Vance said, everyone looking up to see him.

"Director, you must be kidding me. Abby is part of our team. Without her, it doesn't make Team Gibbs," Tony said. Director stared at him without emotion.

"DiNozzo, Miss Sciuto is not the only one who is good in the forensics' department. It's time Team Gibbs' had a change once in a while," Director Vance said before he walked to the elevator.

Tony, Ziva, and McGee tried to stop him but they were stopped by Gibbs. The three turned to him, shocked that he did nothing. Abby smiled sadly before speaking up once again.

"Everyone, I know you guys will miss me, but it's okay. I actually agreed to this test run as well. McGee, Ziva, Tony, I will miss you all," she said before finally tearing up and crying. When she opened her arms to them, they immediately hugged her.

Gibbs watched the whole ordeal. He felt somewhat guilty for what he had done, but he wouldn't let the tears get to him. He had to teach her a lesson that sometimes she can't cross the line when already being warned. After their group hug, Abby looked over at Gibbs before picking up her box again.

"Well, I'm going to say goodbye to Ducky and Jimmy before I pick up my things. It's going to take a while, but I hope everyone adjusts to the new forensic scientist. And Tony, she's a looker, and you do like those pretty girls," Abby told them once more before staring at all of them and going to the elevator. "Goodbye everyone! Goodbye... Gibbs."

She gave them a wave before they waved back, solemn looks on their faces. When the elevator door closed, the three looked immediately at Gibbs. Tony looked angry, Ziva with a solemn and observative look, and McGee with a confused look.

"Get to work," he ordered but the three didn't listen.

"You didn't say or do anything, so did you approve of this, Gibbs?" Ziva asked. Gibbs didn't answer but his glare warned them to do as he says.

"Why? She's part of the team Gibbs," Tony said, his eyes looked at him in disbelief.

"Did she do something, Boss?" McGee told him.

Feeling rather impatient, he slammed his desk and ordered them to get to work. The three stayed silent before reluctantly doing as they told. Meanwhile, Abby visited the morgue to see Ducky and Palmer. Ducky was about to make an incision on a current dead body but stopped when he saw Abby.

Surprised, he covered the dead body and walked towards Abby.

"And what do I owe your presence here, Abigail?" Ducky said with a smile after he took off the mask.

"Well, I'm here to say goodbye to both you and Jimmy. I've been transferred," Abby said, looking down.

"What?" Ducky and Jimmy quietly yelled though Palmer was louder, both their eyes opened wide.

"Is that why you are holding that box?" Palmer asked.

"How come I haven't heard of this? Did Jethro have a say in this?" Ducky immediately asked afterwards.

Abby smiled sadly before she answered, "Yeah, that's what the box is for, Jimmy. As for Gibbs, why don't you ask him, Ducky? He has the answers."

Ducky, noticing her expression, was rather angry in a way but didn't show it... yet. He was going to have a talk with Jethro later on. Abby then put down her box before holding out her arms for them to hug. She had to wait for them to change before they could hug her for healthy reasons. When they came back, Abby smiled and they both hugged her. They said their goodbyes with a few wishes of being well and safety at her new location. She thanked them in return before she headed for her used-to-be-lab.

The new forensic scientist and her assistant looked up at her. They were rather confused by her presence and what she was wearing. The woman that had replaced her, took off her goggles and headed her way.

"May I help you with something?" The woman said, her eyes were quite serious, almost reminding Abby of Gibbs.

"I'm Abby Sciuto. I'm here to pick up my things," Abby told the two.

"Oh, well, your things are over there," the assistant guy pointed at where Bert the Hippo sat with her other things. "As for your equipment, they have already been shipped to Lousiana."

Abby nodded before putting her belongings in her box. And when she picked up Bert off the floor, she had to pat off the dirt before she hugged him and the usual farting emitted from the stuffed animal. The two strangers looked at her questioningly but the assistant showed a disgusted look with his. She didn't mind their looks before she put Bert in the box. She then looked at the new forensic scientist and smiled.

"I hope you get along with the Gibbs' team," she told the woman before she left.

The woman didn't show any expression before saying, "It's a bummer that they let an interesting girl like her go."

Abby started to walk out of the building but then saw Gibbs waiting on the side. He looked over at her as Abby smiled. She wasn't really angry at Gibbs and she didn't want to leave Gibbs in a bad note either. She gently dropped her box and hugged him, startling him. He then hugged her back as he knew he would not see her for some time.

"It will only be two months, Abbs," he comforted her yet seemed to be comforting himself as well.

"Correction. It'll be a year and a half, Gibbs," she said before letting go. Gibbs looked at her confused.

"What?" He asked.

"A year and a half, Gibbs. I asked the Director for that time. Family time, you know. It's time I caught up with my brother and my parents," she told him before looking up at the sky. "I'll miss you and everyone else, Gibbs. I think you'll like the new forensic scientist as well, not more than me but good enough."

Abby smiled before picking up her things and smiling at him. Gibbs watched her descend the steps before stopping her once more. Abby, surprised, looked at him.

"A year and a half is a long time, Abbs. Are you sure about this?" Gibbs asked. Abby breathed in deeply and let her breath go with a continuing smile on her face.

"I guess I want to cherish my family like you cherish yours, Gibbs. It's about time I had my own vacation," she told him before Gibbs let go of her.

"Bye Abbs."

"Goodbye Gibbs." She pecked his cheek before she started to walk away.

He held his cheek and watched quietly as she left. For some reason, he felt guilty and a part of him somehow felt empty. A lingering loneliness appeared inside him without him knowing, and the Gibbs' team seemed more lost without her than anyone else who had left the team for such a long time span.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs," yelled Ducky as he entered the bullpen. The three other agents stared in shock at Ducky's rare anger mode. As for Gibbs, he knew he would have it from Ducky. His wrath wasn't something to look away from. "We will talk privately. Now."

Without another word, Ducky walked by to the elevator. Gibbs sighed as he got up involuntarily. This was going to be a very long day for Gibbs. The Never-Mess-With-Abby rule is starting to play through everyone as it seems the team and Ducky are against him.

When they were inside the elevator and the doors closed, Gibbs flicked the emergency switch, stopping the elevator and turning off the light within it.

"What are you thinking, Jethro," Ducky yelled angrily. His eyes softened and then said, "It's Abigail, Jethro. You made Abigail leave. For what reason would you do such a thing?"

"She went out of line and I'm punishing her. I've let her off a few times. But this one, I cannot turn a blind eye on," Gibbs explained as then Ducky whacked him across the back of his head like Gibbs did to Tony and McGee.

"It's Abigail, Jethro. When will you realize that?" Ducky told him. Gibbs just clenched his fist but it wasn't long before he got angry again.

"I know it's Abby, Ducky! I know what I've done, but it doesn't change things. I'm not changing my mind, and I'm not bringing her back. She will go through this punishment and no one has a say in it except me," Gibbs said slamming his hand against the elevator's wall.

"You've made some bad decisions in your life, Jethro, and this is one of them. Your stubborness will make you suffer one day. Oh, bless your soul, Jethro," Ducky said before he turned on the switch of the elevator.

"I'm disappointed in you, Jethro. Very disappointed." Ducky's head lowered, shaking his head and then sighing soon after. He looked up at Gibbs once again but turned away, knowing that saying another word is pointless. He left the elevator with a mix of a solemn and disappointed look.

Gibbs saw that the three of his team members are looking at him and barked at them to get to work. As for him, he closed the elevator and flicked the off switch again.

A year and a half, that is how long the team will be without Abby. A year and a half, the team will work with the new forensic scientist and her assistant. A year and a half is how long she will with the other team. A year and a half, that's all it took for her punishment. But for some reason, a year and half feels to long even if it is short to say.

And without another word, Gibbs slapped himself in the back of the head. A year and a half, he won't be able to see Abby personally.

So far it had been two weeks without Abby, the Gibbs' team were trying their best to get used to the new forensic specialist, even Ducky seemed out of place with her and her assistant, Derek Prenshaw. Just as Abby said, the forensic scientist is quite the beauty. Tony couldn't deny it either, but he didn't fancy her as much as he did with other women, maybe because she is temporarily replacing Abby for long periods of time.

"Fingerprints are found on the knife but none matched the victim or suspects. It does, however, match the fingerprint of a Jeffery Todds. He works as a bouncer for a nightclub called, 'Techno Feel'," The new forensic scientist told Gibbs before giving him the documents. Her way of speaking had been very professional and Gibbs wasn't used to her upright look. Possibly, she may be a younger female version of the present cold Gibbs, and he didn't like that even if she is a red-head.

She is quite the opposite of Abby in so many ways. She doesn't ramble on and on like Abby. She doesn't give any vibrant vibes, smiles, or a joke or two. She has an assistant that works well with her unlike Abby's first and only assistant who had become a criminal himself. It was all professional and no Abbyness.

"We also found traces of cocaine in the victim's pocket," the assistant continued.

"I see. Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Not as of right now. We'll tell you if we find anything else, Special Agent Gibbs," The specialist told him.

"It's just Gibbs, Miss Tanners."

"Tanners would be enough for me as well, Gibbs," the specialist said. Gibbs nodded before he left.

It didn't take long before they found out the criminal was another petty officer who was jealous of not being able to be the girlfriend of Jeffery Todds. She killed another petty officer out of jealousy and wanted to frame Jeffrey for it. The female forensic scientist found to be quite efficient, yet the energy in the team wasn't the same without Abby.

When Gibbs stepped into his office the next morning, McGee and Ziva hurdled around Tony, who had been talking to Abby on the computer.

"Hey, Abbs, how are you doing out there?" Tony asked. Abby, in the screen, smiled sweetly.

"I'm doing great here! I've hit it off with everyone," Abby said as she then showed the team her partners, who waved at them as they waved back.

"Briggs, my boss over here, is just great," Abby pointed at a seemingly thirty year old. "Don't let looks fool you, but he's actually fifty years old."

Everyone laughed, even Abby's new boss. Apparently, the boss over there is nicer than Gibbs. In return, Gibbs wasn't as happy to see the joy that emitted from the other team, especially from Abby.

"Don't be too cozy over there. We need you back here in D.C. as soon as possible," Tony said as Abby laughed.

"Right-o. So are you guys getting along with my replacement?" Abby asked.

"You mean _temporary_ replacement, Abby," Ziva corrected.

"She's okay though. Very professional. Surprisingly, Tony didn't hit on her," McGee told her.

"Really?" Abby asked, shocked. "Why is that?"

Without anyone noticing, Gibbs slapped both McGee and Tony across the head.

"Ouch," both guys said in unison while rubbing their heads.

"Get to work," Gibbs said.

"That must be my cue to go then?" Abby asked.

"I guess so," McGee muttered.

"Bye, guys," Abby told them while waving.

"Bye Abby!" Ziva, McGee, and Tony said in unison while waving at her. They wanted to say more but Abby turned off on them immediately, even Gibbs didn't have a chance to say anything to her.

"I feel unhappy," Ziva suddenly said with a sigh.

"I miss her ramblings and her bubbly attitude," Tony said and then sighed.

"She seemed to be too happy over there. It makes me feel uncomfortable," McGee said before he did his own sigh.

"If it weren't for a certain someone, then Abby wouldn't have to..." Tony started as Gibbs glared at him.

"I dare you to finish it, DiNozzo," Gibbs said with such a startling cold tone. Tony kept his mouth shut, but he glared back.

Soon after, they started to seriously work. Gibbs, on the other hand, thought about what they said. He didn't think Abby would actually do well there. She was all smiles and laughter. His mind felt unsettled for the first time in a long while. It felt like he was slowly losing his favorite of the team, and it was all to teach her a lesson. And quite frankly, it backfired terribly.

Meanwhile, Abby had an assignment to find out the fingerprints on the baseball bat that killed retired officer Jared Forelance. Jeffrey Briggs, Abby's new boss, came into her lab with a Caf-Pow! in hand and placed it near her on the table. Luckily, she found out New Orleans sold Caf-Pow! here. She never thought she would she get to taste the lovely sugary coffee beverage that she would love and miss.

"Oh, thanks, Briggs. I've found traces of fingerprints that belonged to three people. One of the fingerprints belongs to the victim, Jared Forelance. Another belongs to a Mary Terrance, who seems to be his daughter. The last one belongs to his son, Tyler Forelance. I hope the children didn't kill their father. It would be horrible if they did," Abby said before turning to Briggs.

He gently smiled. His gray steel eyes were gentle and kind. It was a look quite similar to Gibbs, and she missed her Bossman very much. Briggs saw her expression before he patted her on the shoulder.

"Good job, Abbs," he said before he continued with, "A year and a half would pass by fast. Just enjoy this place like it's your vacation."

Jeffrey Briggs knew Abby missed her old team. He could see through her mask of happiness just as he did with her old team's face. He even noticed the look on Gibbs' face in the background when he stared at Abby.

"Thanks, Briggs. You've helped me a lot. I wouldn't be able to get used to this place if it wasn't for you," Abby told him with her famous smile. He chuckled before he hugged her and she hugged him in return before they released each other.

"Well, I've got to interrogate the suspects. Talk to you later, Abbs," Briggs said, kissing her on the head before leaving like Gibbs would do sometimes.

Abby watched her boss leave before she looked over the evidence. All the while, her mind is set on the Gibbs' team. She would lie if she wasn't happy knowing they weren't used to her new replacement. But then again, she wanted the betterment of the team. She remembered how hard it became for the team when Gibbs left or when Kate Todds died, and she couldn't let that happen again when she was the one leaving. But then again, unlike the other two, she did communicate with everyone.

It had been another a week later, and nothing seemed to replace the energy she had for the Gibbs team. She noticed the team had apparently become more tired and tried to figure out a way to get them up and going again.

A few days later, Gibbs was called up to the Director's office. He walked in with a rather cold look. In times like these, he wished that Abby was in her lab, helping him release the stress inside him. Even though he wouldn't admit it, her ramblings quite helped him through the day and remembered everything she said clearly.

"Gibbs, please sit down," Director Vance told him. Gibbs just stood there.

"What is it?" He asked without a shown expression. Director Vance didn't seem fazed about it.

"How are you and the team doing with the new forensic scientist?" Vance asked. Gibbs expression showed unhappiness.

"Is that all you are going to ask me?" Gibbs asked. Vance sighed before he intertwined his fingers.

"Miss Sciuto recommended that you and your team have some bonding time with Miss Tanners and Mr. Prenshaw, and I agree with her. After Miss Sciuto left, your team seems more distracted than usual. So every Thursday, you, your team, Doctor Mallard, and Mr. Palmer will be meeting up with Miss Tanner and Mr. Prenshaw at one of the meeting rooms for one hour to discuss whatever needs to be said to get your team back on track," Vance explained, staring seriously at Gibbs.

"That would be a waste of our time, Vance. And why is Ducky and Palmer in the meeting?" Gibbs seemed rather reluctant and angry at the same time.

"You may think it's a waste of your time, but it isn't for me. As for Doctor Mallard and Mr. Palmer, they seemed rather... uncomfortable with the forensics duo," Vance answered.

"I'm not doing it," Gibbs said.

"It's not an option, Gibbs. It's mandatory. Miss Sciuto even sent a message to do this. If you and your team doesn't try, she will cut off all communication until the meeting is agreed upon," Vance said. Gibbs eyes widened and mouth opened a bit with shock, the first expressive emotion shown on his face for a while other than a solemn or angry he gives off most of the time. He glared at Vance for a moment before he left slamming the door open. Vance sighed, knowing that such a reaction will occur.

"_Doing all of this just for him and the team_," Vance thought. "_No wonder she is the support of the team._"

The three team members looked up at Gibbs and their faces looked anxious. It was Tony that spoke up first.

"Did you get Abby's message, Boss?" Tony asked.

"I got it all right," he said before slamming his hand on his desk.

"Why does she want us to bond with them? I don't get it," Ziva said.

"It's Abby. She doesn't want the team to be unhappy, I guess," McGee answered.

"It's just ridiculous," Ziva said, looking frustrated.

Suddenly, Ducky and Jimmy came to the bullpen and looked at them with confusion written on their faces.

"You all have the message too, I presume," Ducky said as the team nodded.

"Truthfully, I don't really like the forensic scientist and her assistant. They scare me," Palmer said. Ducky chuckled at the comment before patting on his shoulder.

"I remember a day when I met this young lady. She was a mysterious woman, dressed in all white. Her hair mangled up as if she had been in some sort of fight. She had this glint in her eyes that showed such anger. I thought she was some sort of ghost. But in the end, it was just my neighbor's neighbor who had just woken up from another neighbor using a lawn mower at night," Ducky said as the team had a rather confused look. Jimmy Palmer had a smile on his face while Gibbs would've smiled at this, but he didn't feel like it.

"Why would anyone want to mow their lawn at night?" McGee asked. Ducky shrugged in reply.

"Who knows, Timothy? Who knows?" Ducky said.

"So how are we going about doing this?" Palmer asked.

"We suck it up and meet," Tony said.

"Or we don't go to the meeting but pretend that we did," Ziva said with a smirk.

"Oh ho ho, the lady knows how to think," Tony commented before Ziva gave him a smirk before licking her lips.

"And the lady is ready to give the gentleman a sprint for his money," Ziva replied back.

"You mean a "run for his money", Ziva," McGee corrected. Ziva chuckled venomously.

"Oh, I know what I mean," she said before she jumped up and that triggered Tony to start running with Ziva following behind him.

All of a sudden, McGee's computer dinged, telling him someone is online to talk to him. He pulled up his screen to see Abby.

"Oh, hi Abby," McGee greeted but was a little confused. "I thought you'll be online later." Gibbs perked up at the mention of Abby's name. He sat up and started to straighten his jacket before he calmly walked over to the screen where Ducky and Palmer were.

"Hey, McGee. Gibbs. Ducky. Palmer," she immediately greeted them cheerfully while waving. Gibbs nodded back.

"Hey, Abbs," he could only say. The others greeted her normally and their facial expressions were rather relieved to see her.

"Where are Tony and Ziva?" Abby asked, looking around her screen not seeing them.

"Horsing around like always," McGee answered.

"Oh, okay then I'll let you give the news to them then. I forgot to mention to everyone to not try any funny business," Abby told him. Soon after, Ziva and Tony stopped playing around and surrounded McGee when they heard Abby's voice.

"And the funny business would be for?" McGee asked, waiting for an answer.

"I know you guys, and I know that someone will come up with an idea to try to avoid the Thursday meetings with Janette," Abby answered.

Ziva's mouth opened wide but quickly closed it before Abby knew it was her that came up with idea. The rest all shrugged in reply except Tony. He looked confused after the mentioning of a woman named Janette.

"Who's Janette?" Tony asked.

"You know, Janette Tanners, _your_ forensic scientist and _my_ replacement," Abby told them as if they should already know.

"You mean _temporary_ replacement, Abby," Ziva corrected her.

"Thanks, Ziva. Even though I am only here temporarily, it doesn't mean you guys can't bond with someone new. It's going to take a while for me to get back, so I want everyone to have a friendly relationship with Janette," Abby told them.

"And when have you been close to_ this_ Janette?" Ziva questioned, looking at Abby with such an observational look.

"I bonded with her. We talk online like this once in a while. She's a good person and very good at her job. She's like a female version of Gibbs with all this cold, mysterious vibe," She said before gesturing with her hands. "But before I get off topic and having to leave soon, I will also be present at the meeting. Well, not like present in body sort of thing, more like present as in a computerized screen of me. I'll be making sure you attend and if anybody misses it, you will feel Abby's wrath of doom."

The last sentence sent smiles on everyone's faces even Gibbs.

"Abbs, I've got your Caf-Pow. Ready to work?" Briggs asked as Abbs turned and told him she'll be right there after she gives them a short message. Briggs smiled and nodded.

"Take your time. You deserve it for the good work you've done," Briggs said before he gave her a hug from behind and kissing her on the head. Abbs chuckled and hugged him back. He left soon after with her waving at him, not noticing the looks the Gibbs' team had on their faces.

Everyone in the Gibbs' team, including Ducky and Palmer, saw it and each person's mouth opened with the same surprised look. It was as if they saw something horrible. If anything, Gibbs stomach had just been punched out of nowhere.

When Abby turned back, she became confused at their looks.

"Uh, guys, why do you all have this look that you just saw some horror movie?" Abby asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Abby will be OOC in a way because of how the storyline will go.

Chapter Three

Gibbs sat alone at his desk after the team had gone for the day. He remembered this morning when Abby had been hugged and kissed by her new boss. The display continued to replay in his mind over and over again. Nobody in NCIS is allowed to do that to Abby except him.

He held his head with his hands while he tried to get his mind to settle down. These were one of those times when he needed Abby's hugs or her welcoming smile. Eventually, he left the NCIS building and drove himself home. When he entered inside his basement, he immediately started sanding his current boat. He felt conflicted. He wanted to get Abby back, but she voluntarily left on her own accord. Oh, and he couldn't forget about the punishment. He didn't know whether this was his punishment or hers. And if it was for Abby, she seemed to be enjoying it more than him.

Not before long, he stopped sanding and sat down, drinking his beer. It didn't hurt this much after he quit NCIS before. But when it was Abby's turn to leave, it was a whole different story. Yes, she did online communication a couple of times but the communication was with everyone else except him. He wasn't one for modern technology, but he did get a few texts or calls from her. It wasn't as much as the others, but he never took them for granted. It did help ease his mood.

Suddenly, Briggs entered his mind. Abby had been there for only a few weeks and already she and Briggs shared a bond. The way he spoke to her was rather intimate to the extent that it annoyed him. He should be the only one to say 'good job' to her and hugging or kissing her while doing so whenever she helped to crack a case. It is the way that Gibbs and Abby bonded, and it is their special bond. Now that Briggs replaced him for that, it was no longer the special Gibbs-Abby team.

With those thoughts, he continued to drink his beer. After he finished it, he started to drink another and then it continued to another until he had five beers. Soon after, he slept soundly in his basement.

"Gibbs!" Abby's voice suddenly yelled. Gibbs instantly alerted himself and got up. He looked around the basement and found himself alone.

"_It was just my mind playing tricks on me_," Gibbs thought. He looked over at his watch and found it was already morning.

"Thanks, Abbs," he whispered to the air before getting ready to go to NCIS.

Thursday came soon enough. There were grunts and groans coming from Ziva, Tony, and McGee. Gibbs looked reluctant as well but didn't make any sounds like they did. Palmer looked nervous while Ducky seemed not too fazed. A few seconds later, they were joined with Janette Tanners and Derek Prenshaw before entering the meeting room.

"So where's our favorite Abby?" Tony asked.

"Here!" Her voice yelled before two built NCIS guys carried a large screen inside to reveal Abigail. They placed her at the end of the table. "Thanks, Jack. Thanks, Arnold."

"No problem, Abby," they both said in unison before leaving and closing the door behind them.

"So where to start?" Abby said energetically.

Palmer raised his hand slowly as Abby became more giddy.

"Yes, Jimmy," Abby called out to him.

"Um... can I please be excused? I need to go do my...um... business," he answered nervously. Some chuckles were heard that made Palmer feel more embarrassed.

"Of course, Jimmy. This isn't school, you know," Abby told him. Palmer smiled and nodded before immediately running to the door.

"I think I've scared him," Janette said suddenly.

"And why is that, Janette?" Abby asked, curious.

"I yelled at him for making jokes when I was working. I take my work seriously and won't allow any nonsense when I'm in the lab," Janette answered, straight to the point.

"Yes, I felt that wrath as well. I guess my ramblings were inappropriate at the time," Ducky said.

"Now, we're getting somewhere," Abby said excitedly. Her smile glowed that only Abby could pull off. "So Gibbs team, does Janette do her work well?"

"Well... she does her work efficiently, I guess," McGee answered. Abby nodded.

"What do you think of Gibbs team, Janette?" Abby asked the forensic scientist.

"Easy to work with but some members are rather too talkative," Janette answered, looking at Tony. Tony responded by looking awkwardly. Abby smiled seeing more Gibbs-like vibe in her. No wonder she couldn't hate but like the woman.

"Now, Ziva, what makes you dislike Janette?" Abby asked the Israeli woman.

"I guess she isn't you, Abby," Ziva answered. Abby nodded with an understanding.

"Yeah, I miss you guys alot, but I know you will get used to her and her assistant. Time makes bonds," Abby told them.

"But so does chemistry," Tony interjected. Abby chuckled.

"That too," Abby agreed. "And since you spoke up Tony, what do you think about Prenshaw?"

"Not sure. I guess I think of him as Tanners' lackey?" DiNozzo answered.

"I am not Janette's lackey. I am her assistant as well as her friend," he corrected him and gave Tony a glare.

"So you all agree that you aren't used to each other's company," Abby asked. Everyone nodded while some added mutters of a 'yes' and a 'I guess so'.

Right after that, Palmer came inside. He looked around confused at the room being quiet after he appeared but sat down slowly on his chair.

"Now, let's do some self-introductions and tell everyone something interesting about yourself," Abby said as if enjoying this time with the whole group.

"This makes me feel like I'm in those group therapy sessions again," Tony commented before he shivered from the thought.

"And what happened in these therapy sessions, Tony," Ziva asked, a smirk coming across her face with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Not telling you, Zi-va," Tony answered.

"Okay, you guys. Since you both spoke first, Tony will introduce himself and then it would be Ziva's turn," Abby announced. Tony pursed his lips with a pout before elbowing Ziva at her arm next to him.

"Thanks a lot, Ziva," Tony whispered near her ear.

"It's your fault," Ziva snapped back quietly while elbowing him at his arm in return. Tony mouthed an "ow" before rubbing his hurt arm.

"And we're waiting, Tony," Abby said, starting to become impatient.

Tony sighed before he pushed his chair while standing up.

"My name is Tony DiNozzo. I like any woman of any kind of personality. She has to beautiful though and not a psychopath, criminal, stalker, or in any means dangerous to my life. Oh, yes, she can't be a guy under woman's clothing. I am also a whiz at movie trivia. Thank you," Tony said before giving a small bow and then sitting down.

"Good job, Tony," Abby said giving him a thumbs up. Tony just smiled and looking rather proud of himself.

"I didn't do too badly, did I?" Tony asked before a chuckle came from Ziva and Derek Prenshaw.

"Hey!" Tony yelled before crossing his arms and stared down at Ziva and Prenshaw.

"Okay, Ziva, your turn," Abby said, ignoring Tony's pout. She always loved the Tony and Ziva spat.

Ziva observed everyone in the room before sighing and whispering incoherent words before she stood up.

"Well, for one, I am Ziva David. Unlike Tony, I am well trained in combat as well with guns. I can use mostly any object as a weapon. For instance, I did use a credit card to eradicate a man once," Ziva said before sitting down.

There was quite a bit of silence but Gibbs couldn't help but give a very small smirk on his face. Ziva wasn't too happy when there wasn't any reaction to her introduction. It wasn't until Abby spoke up that broke the ice.

"That's great Ziva. You've done well, and who knows? You could save plenty of people with a credit card. So, who's going next?" Abby asked, eagerly waiting for the next person to speak. After a few seconds of silence, Abby crossed her arms with a pouted look on her face. "Come on, guys. It's not that bad. Don't make me choose."

Tony smirked mischievously before he pinched the concentrated McGee. McGee yelped and suddenly stood.

"Great, McGee! At least someone has the guts to volunteer," Abby said, glaring over at the people who didn't speak up. She then looked ecstatic over at McGee. "Go ahead, McGee."

"But..." He started but then gave in at Abby's excited look. "Give me a moment."

McGee just stared down at Tony with a glare before he breathed in deeply and then slowly letting the air out. Tony only chuckled at him, which McGee responded with a punch on DiNozzo's arm.

"Hey. Hey. Play nice," Abby told them.

McGee straightened his jacket and then said, "Hello everyone. As you may all know, I am Timothy McGee but I go by either McGee or Tim..."

Tony intercepted by coughing out the words "McNerd", "McGeek", "Elf Lord", and many other variations that Tony mostly made up himself. Chuckles had been heard by many of the members in the room other than Gibbs who just covered a smile under his hand and Janette who didn't think it was funny at all. Abby just sighed and felt the hour would pass by before anybody could finish. Ducky chuckled only a bit before he stopped and just smiled.

"It's not funny," McGee yelled with his pouting look.

"Oh, yes, it is, Elf Lord," Tony said, before he laughed again. He then uttered Elf Lord once more and then sighed afterwards, calming himself from all the chuckling. "It never gets old."

"It does for me," McGee replied at his comment, glaring at Tony once more. "Can I finish my introduction now?"

"Of course, go ahead... Elf Lord," Tony said before snorting and holding back a laugh. This time McGee glared, hoping it would stop his teasing. Sadly, it didn't work.

He looked at everyone in the room (other than Tony) and said, "Before I was rudely interrupted..." He glared at Tony and then back to everyone. "My name is Timothy McGee, Tim for short or the usage of McGee is quite acceptable. I am quite good with computers. And yes, I do play games to relax."

"McDork," Tony whispered with a smile on his face before he was slapped across the back of his head by McGee, who sat down soon with a smug face after he hit Tony.

Tony rubbed the back of his head and glared at McGee while mouthing threatening words, "I'll get you, McGee."

"Good job, McGee. You did well," Abby told him with reassurance. "Anybody want to go next?"

Jimmy slowly lifted his hand and everyone stared at him. Abby smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Jimmy. Go ahead," Abby told him. Jimmy nodded before he pushed up his glasses and standing up nervously. His hands clenched on the end of his shirt.

"Um... My name is Jimmy Palmer. I-I-I am assistant to...uh... D-Dr. Mallard. I like to listen to other people's stories. I'm not sure if I... uh... have anything interesting to tell you about, but I... ah... am named after the Baltimore Orioles pitcher, Jim Palmer. I don't like baseball though," Palmer said before he seated himself quietly and quickly.

Abby just smiled widely and nodded.

"You did great, Jimmy!" She complimented. Jimmy's face turned red from blushing at the nice compliment.

"Thanks, Abby," Jimmy told her while she responded with a nod.

"Four more people left. Who will go up next?" Abby asked.

"I guess I will," Derek Prenshaw said before standing up. "My name is Derek Prenshaw, the forensics assistant only to Janette Tanners. I play football, basketball and soccer when I was in high school and sometimes during college. I am also well-learned in poetry and solving riddles."

Derek Prenshaw sat down. Abby smiled widely.

"Ooh, that's great Derek. You'll fit right in with Ducky and Jimmy. They both like poetry. Tony likes basketball too. He did say he played in high school and college," Abby told him. Derek nodded.

"It's been a long while I've played," Derek said. "I'm not too sure if I've become rusty or not."

"See, Tony, there's something in common with you and Derek," Abby told him, facing him as much as the screen can give.

"We'll see," Tony said before reminding himself of playing basketball with some guys once but hurting himself while doing so.

"Next person, chop chop," Abby ordered with a smile, having fun trying to be authorative by being playful about it.

"I will go next, Abigail. It seems Jethro and Miss Tanners are unwilling to go next," Ducky voiced out. Abby nodded.

"Go right on ahead, Ducky," Abby told him. Ducky nodded before standing up slowly.

"My name is Donald Mallard but I do go by Ducky. I have studied psychology and I am also the medical examiner of NCIS. I have lots of interesting stories, but I will not tell them now as it would take away my mystery," Ducky said with a smile but then continued," But if anybody insists, I am open to talk about one of my stories."

"Of course, Ducky. There's still time with only two people left," Abby said.

It took about ten minutes of Ducky's story about one of his adventures in his past. He once went wild one time striding around naked from being too drunk and was sent to the police and stayed there for the night. Everyone became quite surprised at the story, even Gibbs. Jimmy was quite mesmerized by the story as a big smile came on his lips.

"Never knew you had it in you, Ducky," Tony said.

"I can't imagine you doing that either," McGee agreed.

Ziva didn't say anything as she was too speechless but she smiled soon after amazed by the story.

"Well, that was when I was young and thoughtless. I didn't know what I was doing back then and have long forgotten the reason for doing such acts. It may have been that I wanted to be known. To find some sort of an identity for myself," Ducky said.

"Either way, you are the coolest, Ducky," Abby told him. Ducky chuckled before thanking Abby. He sat himself down before Abby looked at Gibbs and Tanners.

"You know the drill. One of you have to introduce yourselves next," Abby told them.

Tanners and Gibbs looked at each other. Seeing as Gibbs was reluctant, Tanners sighed and stood up.

"Janette Tanners, forensic scientist. My hobby is painting, drawing, and photography. I also play the piano, most notably Mozart and Chopin," Tanners told them before sitting down.

"I would love to hear you play your piano someday, Janette," Ducky told her as she nodded.

"Maybe next week. My piano needs tuning before I could play," Janette said as Ducky smiled.

"It's your turn now, Gibbs," Abby said much more thrilled his turn his next.

"I'm not doing it, Abbs," he told her. "It's useless and a waste of my time."

Everyone knew this would happen. They just waited for Abby to persuade him to do the introduction. Surprisingly, Abby stayed quiet for a while. She just stared at Gibbs for a moment before sighing.

"If that's what you want, then okay," Abby said. This equally surprised everyone.

"Abby, is there something wrong with you? Are you sick?" Tony asked worriedly.

"I'm not sick or anything. I'm just not going to beg Gibbs or put my foot down anymore. It's the reason why I am over here than with you guys," Abby said. "And since you guys are done with your introductions, it's fair that I do mine."

Her smile came back on her face again.

"My name is Abigail Sciuto, a.k.a Abby. I love music and movies as well as science and the supernatural. Caf-Pow is the greatest beverage out there, and I will love you forever if you give me one personally. The most interesting about me is that Abby's hugs could make anyone smile. An Abby hug means Abby loves you and will be there for you. And so, that tells you a lot about me. I've got a lot of things to talk about, but I don't think I have time to talk about them since we do have a time limit. Oh yes, I know American Sign Language too," Abby said giddily.

"_Forensics are best done with music_," Abby signed with her hands.

"_I cannot multi-task like you, Abby_," Tanners signed in reply. "_Music will only distract me_."

Abby giggled and nodded. Gibbs was surprised that Tanners knew ASL.

"_You know how to sign_?" Gibbs signed towards Tanners.

"_Yes, for my aunt's sake_," Tanners replied with signing. "_And you?_"

"_Maybe next time_," Gibbs replied signing.

Abby watched Janette and Gibbs signing that she felt a bit sad but held it in just for the team. Abby, in a way, hoped that Gibbs would set himself free and find someone that would help him get through Shannon and Kelly. And so, Abby hoped that Janette would be the one to destroy his ice when she failed to do so herself since Gibbs only saw her as his daughter. And as his daughter and friend, he wanted the best happiness for him even if she had to sacrifice her feelings for him.

"Hey, don't go signing. Most of us don't know how to do sign language," Tony said and then whispered to McGee, "They aren't talking about me, are they?"

"It doesn't look like it," McGee replied back.

"I'm glad that you guys are finally mingling. My duty for today is done," Abby said with a smile.

"You're leaving already?" Ziva asked.

"You guys are mingling, and I want you guys to get used to not having me around," Abby told them.

"Abby, are you still doing that meeting," yelled a foreign voice. Abby yelled back that she is almost done with the meeting.

"Who the heck is that?" Gibbs asked, knowing it couldn't be her parents and that voice didn't sound like her brother's either.

"Oh, it's Briggs," Abby answered. Gibbs suddenly looked annoyed now.

"Why is Briggs there? And where are you anyways?" McGee asked.

"Oh, I'm at my parents' house. Briggs visits everyday at the house," Abby answered. Gibbs became more shocked at the news.

"Why is he at your house? Why are you at your parents' house anyways? Don't you have work?" Tony asked, now curious.

"Well, for one, Briggs comes everyday to thank me for my hard work. And two, Thursdays are my day off. At first, I wasn't used to day offs since I never had any over at D.C. but I'm kind of happy that I did. I actually caught up with what my brother and parents are doing when I left to D.C. to work. Oh, and the reason Briggs gives me an off day because he knows how much I work and told me how important I was to the team. To sum it up, the team over here are really kind to me, so you guys don't need to worry about me," Abby told them. The whole Gibbs' team suddenly turned unsettled.

"Like I said Abby, don't go getting used to New Orleans. We need you here in D.C.," Tony told her as Abby nodded.

"I know, and I won't. I'm always for Team Gibbs," Abby told them with a reassuring smile. The Gibbs team felt relieved at her answer yet couldn't fully feel relieved because of how the other team treats her so nicely.

And now that he thought about it, Gibbs did work her hard. She never had enough sleep because of the cases needing an all-nighter to solve. He remembered how sleep deprived she was, and he wouldn't let anyone leave until the case was solved. He never gave her a day off either, maybe giving her a night off when necessary if it complicates the furthering of a case. He never did think of giving her one as she always seemed to do great work more than anybody and would only have her do the forensics unless complications occur.

"Abbs, I'm coming in," Briggs yelled over her door before opening it. He held a plate of food and set it nearby on a flat surface. "Your lunch."

"Thanks, Briggs. You're the greatest," Abby said before giving him a hug. She then sat back down at her computer screen.

This led only to make Gibbs more furious. And of course, his face did express his anger. Abby noticed this and looked at him questioningly.

"Gibbs, is something wrong?" Abby asked. "You don't look too happy."

Before she could have any answer, Janette stood up and looked over at Abby.

"Abby, if you don't mind, I have to go right now. There's work that I have to finish, and it involves no sleep," Janette told her. Abby nodded.

"Since you have to leave, I guess the meeting is now over. Sorry, everyone, but I have to go and eat. Briggs is kind of strict on me because of drinking too much Caf-Pow and not eating enough food. I will talk to everyone later then?" Abby said as everyone nodded. "Talk to me when you guys are free. I do have Thursdays off, and I would be bored out of my mind if I have nothing to do. But then again, Briggs has been taking me to cool places over here. I can't wait for Mardi Gras. Adios, everyone!"

After the team, Ducky, Palmer, and the forensics duo said their goodbyes to her, the screen turned black and she was gone. The forensics duo left soon afterwards, leaving the Gibbs team, Ducky, and Palmer. Gibbs was the only one sitting on his chair while everyone started to stand up or already standing up. His rage written on his face.

All of a sudden, "Tony!"

Tony almost tripped when he hurled himself to look over at his boss.

"Yes, boss?"

"Do we have any cases?"

"I don't think so, boss. Why?"

"All of us are going on vacation," Gibbs said before he stood up and stayed by the door.

Everyone stared in shock at their boss before he suddenly became impatient at their frozen bodies.

"What are you all waiting for? Pack up!" Gibbs ordered. The three team members left the room immediately. All the while, they thought about whether or not the Director would allow all of them to go on an impulsive vacation like this.

Ducky chuckled while Palmer was still frozen in fear but actually stood behind Ducky because of his fear in Gibbs.

"Ducky. Palmer. Do you guys want to come with?" Gibbs asked, no longer having the look as if he is about to kill someone.

"Sure. It's due time I had my vacation. Would you like to come as well, Jimmy?" Ducky asked.

"Oh... um... sure?" Palmer said, his voice squeaking at the end.

"How are you going to get Leon's permission to leave, Jethro?" Ducky asked. Gibbs smirked with such mischief in his eyes.

"Got my ways, Ducky. It's not the first time you've known me," Gibbs said before he left the meeting room.

Ducky chuckled and shook his head.

"This will be a long vacation, Mr. Palmer. Be ready for it," Ducky advised him as Palmer gave him a questioning glance.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**: I apologize for the descriptions of the characters I made up. I am not good with character imagery, so please excuse my novice descriptions. I'm much more of a 'let your imagination run free' person. I would also like to thank everyone who commented on this story. I am quite surprised at so many people being intrigued by this story and saying positive stuff about it. Also, please excuse any mistakes for this chapter, the chapters before, and the chapters afterwards. I hope to live up to your expectations. Thank you all.

Chapter Four

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had done it. How? Nobody knew. There, held in his hand, were six tickets for the next flight to New Orleans, Louisiana. Jethro had a seat next to Ducky. Ziva had a seat next to Tony, which may have been better than McGee sitting next to him. And of course, McGee sat next to Palmer. All six were on the same side. Unfortunately, Tony sat behind McGee, which McGee knew he would kick his seat once and a while when he gets bored.

"And what are we going to do over at New Orleans, Jethro?" Ducky asked while Gibbs looked out the window.

"Help out New Orleans with some cases. The other cases for D.C. will be filled in by other NCIS agents," Gibbs explained.

"Ah, I see. Does Abby know we're coming?"

"We're going to surprise her," Gibbs said with a smirk on his face. Ducky chuckled and nodded.

"Abigail does like surprises," Ducky admitted.

As predicted, Abby screamed when they stood in front of her. The scream wasn't from fear but Abby's overjoyed emotion. She hugged each person except for Gibbs. She just stared him in the eyes. Gibbs wondered if she would hug him or not. But then again, he was the one who sent her away. So, of course, she wouldn't hug him. When he thought that, she did the total opposite. It was the most powerful hug that Gibbs ever had gotten from her. And of course, he hugged her in return. He wouldn't say this out loud but this hug actually was quite crushing. Abby does become stronger when her emotions are high. But to Gibbs, he didn't mind. The strength in the hug made up for all the times she wasn't able to hug him. A bit hard to breath but he isn't dead yet.

"The hug is kind of long, don't you think?" Jimmy whispered to Tony. Tony gave an unnoticable small smirk with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"This is Abby were talking about, Jimmy," Tony answered with a shrug as if it wasn't anything to be suspicious about. Jimmy thought for a bit and nodded.

"Guess you're right," Jimmy said before settling with the answer.

"Oh, it's great to see you guys," Abby said before letting Gibbs go. "But why are you guys here?"

"We're teaming up with your team to solve some cases," Gibbs told her with a smile.

"Really?" Abby asked, her eyes glowing brightly before jumping up and down excitedly. Gibbs nodded, which made Abby hug Gibbs again in an impulse.

Soon after, Abby's new team entered and were rather surprised at Abby's old team here. Briggs was the only one who wasn't as shocked since he had just gotten the message from Director Vance that they would come. Gibbs noticed Briggs and started glaring at him for a bit before he looked back at Abby with a smile. Briggs noticed his look but didn't seem to mind his glare.

"Are you picking up Abby? Her time here isn't up yet," said one of Briggs' team. She was short, somewhere around 5'2". She looked a bit chubby yet cute at the same time and her skin was a bit tanned to give her skin some color. Her short dirty blonde hair framed her face well with the bangs hiding her eyes somewhat. She wore baggy clothing and wore rectangle glasses that looked fitting and stylish.

"Oh, we are here to work with your team," McGee answered.

"Really now, and what sort of cases are they," questioned the only male of the other team other than Briggs. He was quite tall around 6'3" and skinny like a model. He also had long slick, black hair, which was quite unusual for a guy to have and gives him a sort of a pretty boy image. And because of it being long, he tied it up. He had asian features and quite handsome enough to be a model, yet he seemed quite stoic to the point that looks like he is observing.

"Is there a suitable place that we could talk?" Tony asked.

"Oh, of course. Please follow me," Briggs answered before showing them the way with his team behind him.

"Wow, Abby, your old boss looks more handsome in person," said the last team member. She is equally beautiful as Ziva and her male team member. She was a little taller than Abby by two inches. Her brunette hair pulled up into a stylish messy bun.

Abby chuckled.

"Well, he is my silver-haired fox," Abby told her proudly.

"Hm, quite so, but the older man next to the younger man with the glasses is my type," the woman told Abby. Abby glanced at who she was looking at before she smiled widely.

"You mean, Ducky? He's the medical examiner in D.C.," Abby told her. The woman replied with an interested look on her face.

"Ducky, huh, I like," she said before Abby and her giggled.

It didn't take long before they entered a meeting room. Briggs closed the door behind him when everyone were inside. He stood in the front. Briggs was quite tall but not as tall his male subordinate. His black hair slicked back, giving him an air of a mature businessman. It looked like he was ten years younger than his real age.

On the left side of the table sat Abby, the pretty asian male, the beautiful brunette woman, the cute chubby young lady, and Jimmy Palmer. On the right side sat Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Tony, and Ducky.

"I would like to introduce the members of my team to all of you. And likewise, I hope you introduce yourselves to us before we start talking about the cases we have together," started Briggs before he looked at all the people in the room. "Here, in order after Abby, is Mun-Hee (pronounced Maun-He) Takeda (pronounced Tah-kee-dah). He likes to be called "Moon"."

Moon crossed his arms and responded with a curt nod.

"Just to let you guys know, Moon is half-Korean and half-Japanese. He's born here so he speaks all three languages fluently," Abby explained as the Gibbs team nodded. Ziva seemed quite curious about the asian male.

"Next is Lily Gray," Briggs continued.

Lily just smiled and winked at Ducky. It sort of startled Ducky a bit before he just smiled nervously at the woman.

"Ooh la la, I like me some Lily," Tony whispered to McGee, who seemed not to really care. Tony was gazing at Lily now but Lily only had her eyes on Ducky. "Do you think she's looking at me? She did the wink."

"Maybe," McGee whispered back. "She is looking over where you and Ducky are."

"Last but not least is Phoenix Wells," Briggs announced the chubby young woman.

Phoenix just nodded and waved at everyone of the other team.

"You know me by Abby calling me Briggs, but you can call me Jeffrey if you are in a first name basis," Briggs said.

"I go by Gibbs," he started before he continued with, "I will let my team introduce themselves."

Briggs nodded in understanding before the Gibbs' team address their names in order like Briggs introduced his team.

"My name is Ziva David," Ziva presented herself in her usual observing manner.

"I am Tony DiNozzo," Tony said before showing his flirty smile at Lily. Lily completely ignored him as she was still staring at Ducky.

"Hello, I am Tim McGee," Tim greeted waving at the other team.

Ducky stood up and said, "My name is Ducky Mallard, I am the medical examiner of NCIS in D.C." Ducky gave a smile and then gave a short nod before sitting himself down again. Lily smiled over at him. Ducky felt quite awkward at Lily's stare as he nodded slowly her way.

Jimmy stood up nervously and smiled. "My name is Ji-Jimmy P-Palmer, doctor Mallard's assistant." He clumsily sat down, almost narrowly missing his seat.

"Okay, now that introductions are over. Let's start on our cases, shall we?" Gibbs said immediately afterwards.

"Pissy, isn't he?" Lily asked. Gibbs glared at the woman. Lily just winked at him.

"We are doing fine without you guys. Why come now?" Moon asked, his eyes challenging Gibbs. Gibbs smirked in reply, taking the challenge.

"Abby is part of _my_ team. It's part of _my_ duty to protect her, and I trust no one _here_ to do the job," Gibbs said truthfully. "All the while to make sure all goes well over here. You guys don't want to be disbanded, do you?"

Abby was rather surprised at what he said. He had never said that when she worked with NCIS: Los Angeles. But then again, Gibbs did work with the group before. Hence, the trust level with them to protect her.

"_So Gibbs does miss me, but he needs to work on his excuses_," Abby thought before she felt giddy inside.

Moon stayed silent, giving a silent glare while Gibbs responded with his own. If anything, there was tension between Moon and Gibbs, and they weren't afraid to show it. Lily and Phoenix sighed.

"_Men_," Lily and Phoenix thought.

Briggs set down a manila folder before he tried to get everyone's attention once more.

"Instead of having arguments amongst us, the cases are more important," Briggs told everyone. "One of our cases involve not only a dead marine but his wife and two other children. The dead marine is named Charles Colts, thirty-five years old. His thirty-three year old wife is Amanda Colts; surname is Wilson. The two children consists of twelve year old daughter, Kylie Colts and five year old son, Darren Colts. There are no surviving members in the house. The marine had a stab wound on his neck while his wife had hers sliced. The two children had been beheaded with a clear cut."

When they heard the mention of two children being killed, Gibbs' team started turning serious. Abby frowned at the case. The Briggs team already knew beforehand about the case, but they were still not used to the thought of a happy family being killed off.

"They killed a five year old? Who could be so heartless to kill a five year old and a twelve year old? And to do it in such a horrible way." Abby asked.

"This is where you come in Abby. We need you to work on prints or any evidence that can be useful to capture our murderer or murderers. Our suspicions are lead to two people, thirty year old Stephan Kents and forty year old Wilma Tailors," Briggs continued.

"I'm going to go start the forensics and get those killers. You guys talk amongst yourselves," Abby told them before she walked and stood next to the door. "Play nice, guys. We've got murderers to take down."

Soon after she said this, she left. Briggs smiled at her authoritative voice. Gibbs watched her leave soon after. One of Briggs team then spoke soon after.

"The supposed weapons used is some sort of knife and a thin wiring. We are awaiting for the medical examiner to justify the murder weapons used on them," Phoenix said.

"We are interrogating our suspects as of now. But without evidence, we've got nothing to trace them to the murders. We do know they have some involvement as they were seen the day before the Colts family were killed," Lily said.

"Well, let's show you how the Gibbs team work," Tony said, winking at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes in reply.

"Trust me, we did all threats possible," Moon told him.

"Oh, but Gibbs. Oh ho ho, Gibbs can make anybody confess," Tony said to reassure him.

"Then, we should be glad to have the Gibbs team here then," Briggs said, patting Tony's back lightly. "If it helps us to solve this case, we shouldn't stop them."

"But..." Moon started but shut his mouth, knowing that solving the case is more important than pride. "Fine. I want to see for myself how great they are."

"But of course, Gibbs team doesn't back down," Ziva interjected. "You'll find out soon that our team is better than you think we are."

"Oh really?" Lily now interfered in the conversation. "Then I hope you think the same for us. Because, if I didn't know any better, your tone sounds like you are looking down on us."

The four now are starting to do a stare down at each other.

"Now, let's calm down. We don't want any fights between us," McGee said.

"Yeah, Abby did say play nice," Phoenix said.

"Don't interfere," all four yelled in unison at both McGee and Phoenix.

Briggs sighed as Gibbs did the same. Both the bosses knew that they were taking too much time with this rivalry, so Briggs and Gibbs looked at each other and nodded.

"Tony, Ziva, McGee, stop arguing and start solving this case," Gibbs ordered.

Tony and Ziva glared at Moon and Lily before the Gibbs team yelled, "Yes, boss!"

"Lily, Moon, Phoenix, let's finish this case once and for all," Briggs ordered.

Moon, Lily, and Phoenix did the same like the Gibbs team but yelled more loudly, "Yes, boss!"

All eight people left the meeting room.

"This is going to be a long day, Mr. Palmer. Unlike them, let's have a nice stay here. Would you like to go sightseeing at this new NCIS building," Ducky questioned.

"Sure thing, Doctor Mallard. This is our vacation," Jimmy told him with a smile.

Ducky chuckled.

"And let's make good use of it," Ducky said before leaving with Jimmy.

"Do you have anything for us, Abbs?" Briggs asked with a Caf-Pow at hand before placing it next to her.

Abby looked up at him and frowned.

"I only have the blood of the victims. No traces of fingerprints on any of the clothes, bed sheets, and everything else, so it's more likely they used gloves for this," Abby told him. "It's not right, Briggs. Those kids and the parents. They must've been a happy family. And suddenly, it's taken away by those murderers. You've got to get them, Briggs. You've got to. If only I had enough evidence, we could get them in no time. Why isn't there more evidence?"

Briggs nodded and then gave her a kiss on the head.

"You did a good job. Don't put yourself down, Abbs," Briggs told her.

"But I can't allow those murderers to get away with killing a whole family like that. It's just... not right," Abby told him. Briggs hugged her.

"We'll catch them, Abby. We'll search more at the house again if we find anything we may have missed," Briggs told her. Abby nodded.

"Thanks, Briggs. I'll do my best to find anything, and put those murderers in jail," Abby said.

"Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"You spend too much time with Moon. Just stay being Abby," Briggs said with a smile. Abby nodded and smiled before he left.

Soon after, Gibbs came in with a Caf-Pow at hand but then found Abby had her Caf-Pow!.

"Oh, Gibbs. Why are you here? I just told Briggs what I've got," Abby told him.

"I know. Just saw him," he told her before setting his Caf-Pow! next to Briggs'.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Why are you here? Not that I don't want you here, but you've got a case to solve. Shouldn't you be interrogating the suspects? But then again, you must've already had because your Gibbs, you know," Abby started to trail off. Gibbs shut her mouth by putting his index fingers against her lip.

"Just wanted to talk, Abby," Gibbs told her.

"Talk?"

"Yes, talk."

"Talk about what?"

"Do you like it here?"

"Well, I feel comfortable here but not as much as in D.C." Gibbs smiled at the comment. "Don't we have a case to solve?" Abby looked over at Gibbs confused.

"Already solved it. The criminals cracked way too easily. Tailors admitted beheading the children. As for the parents, they were killed by her lover, Patrick Hawthorne. Found one of the murder weapons in the garbage, and the other was inside a drawer," Gibbs said. "We just need blood confirmation on the weapons."

"Well, you are Gibbs. You can crack almost any criminal possible," Abby complimented him. Gibbs just smiled. A small silence started to brew between them. Abby rolled her chair to get her drink and started drinking her Caf-Pow that Briggs gave her. Gibbs noticed.

"You seem really close to Briggs, Abbs," he suddenly said.

Abby turned to him and smiled.

"Of course. He's the most nicest gentleman you'll ever meet," Abby told him before rolling her chair towards Gibbs.

"I see," Gibbs only uttered, now silence filled the air between them even though music was blaring on inside Abby's lab. The awkwardness suddenly filled Gibbs.

"So... Gibbs... what was the reason for those murderers to kill the family," Abby finally asked after a minute of silence with him.

"Misplaced vengeance. Tailors and Hawthorne's daughter died on battle five years ago and used that anger to kill Colts' family when they realized Colts is a marine. They planned for the murder for months and tried to get close to them by faking neighborly kindness," Gibbs explained. Abby nodded sadly.

"The mindset of humans is a complicated manner," Ducky said before he entered with Jimmy Palmer. "When one loses someone close, actions and/or words are revealed in many different ways. Tailors' and Hawthorne's are one of them."

"Ducky, why are you and Jimmy here?" Abby asked.

"Well, we are here by chance. I heard your conversation and decided to interrupt. I do apologize if it is important between the two of you," Ducky said as Gibbs just smiled.

"You don't mind us interfering as well, do you?" Briggs suddenly asked as everyone from Gibbs and Briggs team entered.

"We've got the results for the blood confirmation on the weapons," Moon said.

"And?" Abby asked.

"Confirmed to belong to Colts' family," answered Phoenix.

"Wow, so just like that we finished the case? Wasn't hard," Tony said.

"So who cracked the criminals?" Abby asked. Gibbs smirked rather proudly.

"Sadly to say, it is your old boss, Gibbs," Moon said, crossing his arms with a look of frustration.

"I told you, Moon. Gibbs always has his way. Well, most of the time," Abby told him.

"I see why you are very fond of your old team, Abbs. They work very efficiently as a team," Briggs said.

"Briggs!" Moon and Lily yelled.

"We work well as a team too, you know," Lily said.

"All of you are still new to this workforce. What you lack, they have," Briggs told them truthfully.

"And what do they have that we lack?" Phoenix asked, not at all offended by the comment but more curious.

"You need to find out yourself. That, my team, is the way of the world," Briggs said. He then clasped his hands together and said brightly, "Well, now that we solved the case. What does everyone like to do?"

"Well, we have to check into a hotel," Ducky said. Briggs smiled.

"Would you guys like to stay over at my house for free? My house is big enough," Briggs said.

"For all six of us?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes, I do live in a very large house," Briggs answered. "Even my team members other than Abby, live with me."

"He lives in a mansion," Phoenix explained.

"Really? Is there even a mansion in New Orleans?" Tony asked. Briggs chuckled.

"Not many people know where I live other than Abby, her mom and brother, and my team," Briggs said.

"And how does Abby know where you live?" Ziva asked.

"Well, first off, Briggs is now my boss. And secondly, Briggs and I know each other far before I knew Gibbs and everyone else here," Abby answered instead.

"So tell me, how do you guys know each other?" Tony asked, now curious at Abby's relationship with Briggs.

Abby and Briggs smiled mischievously.

"Not telling," they both said in unison.

"What? Why not," Tony whined.

Gibbs didn't like their answer and looked rather serious. The way both of them spoke to each other so fondly and Briggs knew her before him, made Gibbs even more distressed. Does that mean Abby once dated Briggs? She became McGee's friend after she dated him, maybe it was the same for Briggs. Gibbs head was in utter chaos, almost nearing him in having a headache. And a headache is the last thing Gibbs needed right now.

"Gibbs?" Abby called out. Gibbs looked up to see Abby's look of concern. Everyone was staring at him as well.

"Yeah?" He asked in his usual nonchalant tone.

"Are you all right? You were spacing out," Abby told him.

"I was just thinking about something. That's all."

"Oh, okay. So are you staying over at Briggs? Living at Briggs' mansion is much more comfortable than a hotel. I know because I slept over there sometimes before I met you, Gibbs," Abby told him with a smile. That comment obviously rear-ended Gibbs in such a painful way that he became so shocked his eyes widened.

"What?" Everyone yelled.

"Oops," Abby uttered. "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I, Briggs?"

Briggs sighed but shrugged it off.

"It's too late for that, Abby, but they will know sooner or later," Briggs said.

Abby chuckled nervously.

"Know what sooner or later," McGee questioned with a curious look.

"We'll let you find out. And if you do, please keep it a secret," Briggs told them with a concerned smile. "There's a reason I haven't told anyone."

"Do you guys know?" Tony asked Phoenix, Moon, and Lily.

"Not at all. If it's a secret they want to keep, there's no reason to invade their privacy," Phoenix answered, knowing full well her two team members would be reluctant to answer.

"Hm... hey, McGee, you going to check on it?" Tony whispered, elbowing McGee to get his attention.

"I might. Doubt it," McGee said.

"And why not?" Ziva asked, raising one of her eyebrows while crossing her arms.

"Like they said, it's invading their privacy," McGee said.

"Um... guys, I don't want to interfere your chit-chat, but are you guys going to stay over at Briggs?" Abby asked.

"What do you say, boss?" Tony asked, looking over at his boss to make a confirmation.

"Sure," Gibbs replied. "_I could keep an eye on him like this._"

"Um... okay. I'll get the van, then?" McGee asked.

"You think," Gibbs said. McGee nodded, looking rather nervous.

"Right on it, boss," McGee said before he left.

"I'll get the rented car," Palmer said before he ran to McGee.

"Abbs, I'm going to take you with me. Is that all right with you," Briggs asked as Abby nodded.

"Sure! It's time I caught up with the great Gibbs team," Abby said excitedly.

"They're not the only ones that are great," Moon muttered. Lily just patted his back.

"Not good to be jealous, my friend," Lily told him.

"I'm not jealous. All Abby talks about is Gibbs this and Gibbs that," Moon whispered angrily.

"What's wrong with that? From what I saw from the interrogation, Gibbs has exceptional skills. He not only threaten the suspects but used the right type of method on them," Phoenix explained. "Unlike you, Moon, he didn't use the violence card over and over again."

"You are on our team. Why are you on their side," Moon said in a quiet yet fierce tone.

"I'm not taking sides. I'm answering truthfully. You can't deny, Gibbs has this sort of authority that not many people have. Not only that, he is quite perceptive," Phoenix said nonchalantly.

Moon said nothing more, which Lily silently smiled at. She knew Phoenix is right. The way Gibbs ran about his interrogation was quite extraordinary. He used threats that don't involve breaking arms or legs nor did he use the good cop, bad cop. Observative while being straightforward and a bit manipulative in his words, Lily would describe Gibbs' interrogation.

Everyone started walking outside towards the vehicles. Abby rode with Briggs; Lily and Phoenix rode in one car; Moon rode by himself; Ziva, Tony, McGee, and Gibbs rode in their van; and Ducky and Palmer rode in their rented car.

"Abby, what do you want to eat for dinner tonight?" Briggs asked her. Abby looked out at the rearview mirror to see the black van with the Gibbs team in it.

"Abby?" Briggs asked. Abby snapped out of her staring and looked over at Briggs.

"What?" Abby asked. Briggs chuckled heartily, knowing her well that she must be thinking about Gibbs.

"I asked you what you want to eat for dinner?" He asked her once more.

"Sorry, Briggs. Mom wants me to eat her homecooked meal. Why don't you come over?" She asked.

"Hm... sure. You don't mind me taking someone with me, would you?" Briggs asked.

"Sure. I'll tell mom," Abby said with a nod but then she smiled mischievously. "So who is this someone? Is it a lady friend?"

Briggs just smiled.

"You'll know," he told her with gentle expression. "So, Abbs. You aren't going to tell them our relationship?"

"Like you said, you don't want anybody to know just yet. And of course, I wouldn't let it slip out," Abby told him.

"Like when you wouldn't say about you staying over at my house," Briggs teased.

"Hey! It was just one slip up. And anyways, this secret is more important than me staying over at your house," Abby told him in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Oh? But your team, doesn't think so, especially one in particular," Briggs said.

"Huh?" Abby questioned. Briggs just chuckled before turning up Abby's favorite genre of music.

**A/N**: Before you ask, I am not Korean or Japanese.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**: I don't know Abby's mother's name nor do I know her brother's name. I looked into google and found someone saying that Abby's mother's name is Gloria. As for the brother, I couldn't find any results, so I'm just going to make one up. Please excuse me for not knowing their names if it was ever mentioned in the series.

Chapter Five

When they got to Briggs' mansion, Ziva, Tony, McGee, Ducky, and Jimmy stared at awe. Tony's eyes gleamed with a big smile starting to form on his face after he whistled.

"It looks almost like a castle," Ziva pointed out.

"Wow, can't believe we're going to live in such a big place like this," McGee said.

"I wonder if he has maids," Tony said.

Not before long, Gibbs slapped the back of the head at his team members' heads.

"Stop drooling, and let's go," Gibbs said when he saw Briggs and Abby waiting for them. They started walking towards them with their luggage in tow.

"If you want, I can ask my men to help you with your luggage," Briggs told them.

"If anybody touches my luggage, I will personally break his arm," she said with a smile. Briggs chuckled and nodded.

"I will take note of that," Briggs told her. He then turned to the five men of D.C. and said, "And what about you guys?"

"Su-" Tony started before Gibbs' interfered with the slap on the back of his head.

"The three of us are fine," Gibbs said, talking about Tony, McGee, and himself.

"I'm fine as well," Ducky said.

"I've got to admit, you are fine," Lily said from behind Ducky, whispering near his ear

Ducky became startled and turned around to face her. If anything, Lily gave him a heart attack. The flirtation didn't work on Ducky as he already been dating steadily with Jordan Hampton, another medical examiner. Lily smiled and waved at him when Ducky's eyes met hers. It made Ducky feel rather... uncomfortable.

"H- hello, Miss Gray," Ducky stuttered, trying his best not to say unnecessary things that may hurt the woman before him.

She leaned close to Ducky and whispered in his ear, "Call me, Lily." She then pulled away and winked at him before she walked to the rest of the team.

Tony saw the whole exchange and he looked surprised and just downright lost. He, the Great Tony DiNozzo, had been turned down even before he started. A woman like Lily would rather flirt with Ducky than him? It couldn't possibly be true. Nothing was wrong with Ducky, mind you. But to not flirt with him just made Tony lose his pride. Tony wanted to yell. But for now, he just stood there frozen at spot and speechless. He had just lost to Ducky.

Ducky and Tony weren't the only ones that were surprised and speechless. McGee and Jimmy had their mouths open. And if they opened it any further, flies would make nests inside them. It was just so awkward and surreal. In the end, they finally came to the conclusion that Ducky can get a woman without even trying.

"And you, Jimmy?" Briggs asked. Jimmy snapped out of his shock and looked over at Briggs.

"Huh?" Jimmy asked.

"Do you want one of my men to take up your luggage?" Briggs asked. Jimmy looked over at Ducky and Lily before he turned back to Briggs.

"I can take it up by myself," Jimmy said with a smile. Briggs nodded.

"I'm going inside first, Briggs," Moon said. "It's almost a quarter after four."

Briggs nodded before Moon left.

"We should get inside as well," Briggs said before everyone started getting inside the mansion.

When they entered, maids lined up on each side of the door. It was as if this kind of thing would come from a movie. The Gibbs team, other than Gibbs, were at awe of the inside. It was rich in style and beautifully adorned with such intricate colors. Some of the paintings were vibrant and some were soft in color. It was large and spacious inside that they felt this was close enough to living inside a castle.

"A dream come true," Tony said quietly when he saw the maids. He started to give flirtatious gestures while they walked by them. And of course, Gibbs gave another slap on the back of his head, which stopped him from flirting.

"There's twelve rooms downstairs and the upstairs have twelve rooms as well. Downstairs, only two are used. The second door to the right belongs to Lily. Third room to the left belongs to Phoenix. Upstairs, the rooms are on the opposite side. The first room to the right belongs to Moon," Briggs told them. "You could pick any of the rooms you want except those."

"Where is your room?" Ziva asked, noticing he didn't say anything about where his room is.

"Oh, I sleep someplace else," Briggs answered. He looked over Abby, who smiled brightly in response. Gibbs noticed this and had a questioning look. They were hiding something, and Gibbs noticed it.

Hm... interesting," Ziva replied as she also noticed the exchange between him and Abby.

"So I could choose any room I want?" Tony asked, making sure. Briggs nodded. Tony's smile widened before he started running to choose first. He chose downstairs to the second room on the left.

"Tony is such a kid," McGee said with a sigh before leaving to get a room. He thought for a while before deciding to get the fourth room to the left upstairs.

Soon after, everyone chose their rooms. Gibbs had the first room downstairs to the right while Ducky took the first room to left. Ziva took the room upstairs second to the left. Jimmy decided to get the room across Phoenix. Ziva, Tony, McGee, Ducky, and Palmer started unpacking when they entered the room while Gibbs just placed his luggage inside the room and just left to the living room.

Before he entered, he saw Abby already seated and chatting away with Briggs. Gibbs didn't like the fondness between them. It felt as if his forensic scientist is being taken away, and somewhere in his mind nagged him to take some sort of action. When he neared, Abby looked up at him with a smile.

"How's your room, Gibbs?" She asked.

"Nothing to complain about," he answered.

"That's great! The bed's really comfortable, so you'll sleep like your dead," she told him.

"But not dead enough to prevent yourself from waking up for work," Briggs added.

"I wonder how long everyone is going to take. I have to leave soon," Abby told to Briggs and Gibbs with a frown but then her glowing smile returned. "But then again, I want to know how you were doing without me when I wasn't there, Gibbs."

She then patted the seat next to her on the couch. Gibbs took it and sat next to her. He wasn't much of a talker, but he didn't want to take this time for granted.

"Good. Tanners was straight to the point, so it helped to solve the cases faster," he said as Abby's stomach twisted when he said that. Did he mean that Abby spoke too much? Was she slowing them down? "But she wasn't as fast and careful as you, Abbs. Even though she did a good job, she didn't do a great of a job like you would do." Just as the twisted feeling in her stomach came, it had gone to be replaced back with her cheerful self.

"I'll let you two catch up. I've got to do something out back. And Abbs, Moon will take you home at five before he goes out to train. I've got to pick up some things before I could come over to your house for dinner," Briggs said as Abby nodded and hugged him.

"See you then. Mom will be especially happy to see you, even though you visit everyday," Abby said.

Gibbs. Poor Gibbs. He was utterly unhappy now. It was one thing to visit her house everyday, but eating meals with her and her family was just going overboard. Ms. Sciuto had taken a liking to Gibbs when he once visited her family in New Orleans. She and him hit it off quite well and she even told him, well, signed him to take care of Abby over at D.C. Now, he is being replaced by that... Briggs.

When he left, it was only Abby and Gibbs. Abby wondered why the Gibbs' team, Ducky, and Jimmy were taking too long. She understood what Briggs' team were doing. Most of them took to resting in their rooms since they didn't want to take it to their disadvantage when something suddenly comes up for work.

It became quiet between them. The awkward silence made Gibbs feel like he is starting to lose his precious forensic scientist. Abby was never one to be silent like this with him. She would usually jabber on and on. But this time, she didn't ramble to him like usual.

"Gibbs, I'm sorry," Abby suddenly said. Gibbs looked over at her with such a confused expression. "You know for going into your business when I had no right."

"Don't apologize. I had forgotten about it by now," Gibbs told her truthfully. Abby sighed.

"I just... want what's best for you, you know. I guess it backfired and broke our closeness," Abby admitted.

"It shouldn't. You know you're always my favorite. No matter what," Gibbs told her. Abby looked at him with a small smile.

"How long are you guys going to stay?" Abby asked, changing the topic before she said something that she shouldn't.

"At least two months. It was supposed be two weeks, but Leon gave me an added bonus," Gibbs answered. Abby felt happy yet she wasn't fully satisfied for some reason.

"Did you come here because of me?" Abby finally asked. Gibbs stared right into her eyes and then smirked.

"What do you think?"

Abby giggled, giving Gibbs a comfort he needed for so long. He had to admit he was sort of jealous of Briggs, not that he was going to admit that out loud to anyone or anything. Without even knowing, he started to stare at her. For some reason, she looked different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Abby just seemed different.

"Gibbs, I missed you," she said quietly but enough for Gibbs to hear it. He smiled and held her in a hug.

"Missed you too, Abbs," he whispered next to her ear. It made Abby have a tingly feeling inside but she tried her best not to show it. Her crush was after all a crush. And doing such a flirtatious thing can make any girl question their relationship.

He pulled away to see her smile. They started out chatting about their eventful lives without each other. Truthfully, it was more Abby speaking than anything. Abby's events was mostly about the Briggs' team and her stay at her mother's house. She spoke about her little brother still being the same even when they were children. Her brother still had a grudge for what Abby had done to him. As for Gibbs, he just spoke about the cases and the team. To Gibbs, it wasn't eventful and nothing that fascinating. But to Abby, those stories captivated her.

"DiNozzo broke his nose, only Ziva managed to get the guy down," Gibbs ended. Abby chuckled, loving the Tony and Ziva duo.

"It sucks that I missed all of that. I will miss you guys when you all leave to go back to D.C."

"Why don't you go back with us then?" Gibbs asked, knowing full well what he was asking. He would rather abandon the punishment than to lose Abby just because of a small argument.

"Sorry, Gibbs. I can't. The team needs me here, and I promised them to stay during that year and a half. I know you and the team could survive without me. You did go to Mexico and turned out okay without us. It'll be the same thing," Abby told him.

Gibbs became speechless. Will it really be the same thing? Those weeks without Abby had been frustrating to him. Was she staying for Briggs' sake? It took a toll on Gibbs. A sudden thought appeared in his mind. What if she didn't want to come back to D.C. but wanted to stay here? Her family was here, and so will Briggs who he thought she must be very fond of. He was losing Abby at a fast rate, and he didn't know what to do. He wasn't one to beg. And if anything, he would rather be dead in doing so.

"Abby, it's time to get going," yelled Moon when he almost neared Abby. Abby sighed before she stood up and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I've got to get going. See you tomorrow, Gibbs," Abby told him.

"Yeah," he said simply, looking at her with a small smile that seemed quite sad in a way.

Abby hugged him, and he replied by giving her a kiss on the cheek. Abby smiled before waving bye to him. Soon after, she followed Moon to his car.

When she was gone, as if on cue, Briggs returned with a basket full of vegetables and fruits. He smiled to see Gibbs still sitting on the couch.

"Hey, can I speak to you for a moment?" Briggs asked. Gibbs looked up and stared darkly at him but shrugged in response.

"I guess so," he answered with such indifference in his voice.

"Abby has always talked about you and the team, but it was mostly you. I could see the spark in her eyes every time she talks to you. And I want to know, what do you think of her?" Briggs said. Gibbs became surprised but tried not to show it.

"She's part of my team, a precious part of my team. In some way, essential," he answered without needing to think.

"Essential? Essential enough to betray her and make her come here?" He asked with not an ounce of venom in his voice but more of being curious.

"What are you implying? That I betrayed her?" Gibbs yelled, now getting angry when he heard the word "betray".

"Simply, yes. You didn't see the state she was in. It became hurtful to me when I saw her. Her tears wetting my shirt while I held her and comforted her. My shirt didn't matter as long as she was okay. You made her leave. That is an act of betrayal, Gibbs," he told him and the kindness on his face turned serious. "And let me tell you, Gibbs, if you hurt her one more time, I won't forgive you. Abby is important to me, and I'll be damned if anybody messes with her. Even if you are the one that Abby cares about."

Gibbs stood up by the time he finished. He then glared at him while Briggs glared back. The relentless stare down between two bosses. Their faces nearing each other as if challenging each other.

"Abby is important to me as well, and I'll be damned as well if anything happens to her. Don't tell me that I've harmed her. The reason she came here is because she went out of line. Nothing else. And if Abby's hurt, I will talk to her about it," Gibbs replied angrily.

The fierce battle eased as the anger that suddenly came to Briggs turned calm and a smile placed on his lips.

"That's the answer I want to hear. No wonder Abby likes you so much," he said, patting Gibbs' shoulder. This sudden change in attitude surprised Gibbs.

"What the hell?" Gibbs blurted out. Briggs chuckled.

"I took acting class in high school. Did quite a bit of acting in plays," he told Gibbs rather proudly. "I just wanted to see how you would react, that's all. Oh yes, will you come with me to go someplace? I need your help in buying some gifts for Abby. You do know the things she likes, yes? I heard from her that you always know the right gifts to give her. I need your help in that department. Not much of a gothic-style person myself." He chuckled lightly.

Gibbs met his match. This man... was quite hard to understand but Briggs reminded him of Abby in some twisted, weird way. And just like that, Gibbs thought he may need Ducky's help in solving Briggs' nature. There's something about him that just irritated him.

"So will you help me?" Briggs asked. Gibbs stared at him for a bit before nodding.

"Sure, but I'm driving," Gibbs stated.

Briggs shrugged and gave Gibbs the keys.

"I'll tell you the way then," Briggs answered.

Gibbs whistled at the car he was about to drive. A Mercedes Benz just off the press. It was gray/silver, two seated, and cool to look at.

"You spend money on something grand," Gibbs told him. Briggs sighed.

"Not my line of choice. It was a gift given to me through special connections," Briggs told him. "Abby's little brother does like the car. Always wanted one of these cars. Would've given to him as a present, but who knows what he would do with it."

He sighed and shaking his head.

"I'm more of a SUV type of man," Briggs continued truthfully.

Gibbs smiled before he got into the car and started it. And of course, Gibbs drove recklessly. Briggs didn't mind. He had gotten through Lily's terrible driving before. Gibbs wasn't as bad, at least he knew when to stop at a red light. Luckily, the basket full of fruits and vegetables were wrapped up or else they would be tossed all around and about.

Their first stop is the flower shop. Briggs looked over at Gibbs. Gibbs looked back at him. He didn't understand what he wanted to do.

"What type of flowers does Abby like?" Briggs asked.

Gibbs didn't need to think long before he answered, "She loves black roses the most."

"Black roses, it is then," Briggs said with a smile. He then asked for black roses towards the florist. The lady looked through her book and smiled.

"Luckily, we have those in stock. Do you want a dozen of those?" The lady asked. Briggs nodded with a gentle smile. The florist blushed at the man before her and started going back to get the roses. It took only a matter of minutes before she came back with the roses beautifully wrapped, showing the black roses' beauty.

"Are you attending a funeral?" The lady asked, being curious and wanted to speak to man a bit more.

"Nope. It's for a lady. She loves them," Briggs answered. Gibbs rolled his eyes. He wondered if Briggs knew the florist was trying to flirt with him.

"Oh," the florist replied, depressed. "So it's for your lover?"

Briggs chuckled lightheartedly.

"I guess you could say that," Briggs answered. Gibbs looked over at him. Was he trying to win Abby's heart? So was Gibbs trying to help him court her?

"_He's fifty years old; he couldn't be trying to court her. But then again, Abby did date an older man once_," Gibbs thought.

Briggs thanked the florist after he paid for the roses, and both Gibbs and him left to drive. Gibbs felt tricked. He was practically helping out Briggs in becoming Abby's future boyfriend. Not before long, they arrived at their next destination.

It was a place that sold trinkets. One in particular caught Gibbs' eyes. He picked up a bracelet that held skulls, crossbones, and casket-shaped figures. Briggs noticed this and smiled.

"Shall I buy that too?" He asked as he held a shiny, black box in one of his hands.

Gibbs put it down and glared at him before walking outside the store. Briggs just smirked and picked up the bracelet before paying the black box and the bracelet.

He left with two wrapped up gifts. Gibbs knew one of those gifts would be the bracelet. How could Gibbs fall for it? How could he not have seen it?

Not before long, they stopped at a house. Gibbs knew this house. It was Mr. and Mrs. Scuito's home. Gibbs looked over at Briggs for answers. Suddenly, Briggs placed the black roses and the small wrapped up present to Gibbs.

"Would you hold it for me? I've got to carry the basket of vegetables and fruits and this gift," Briggs said while holding out to show him. "You don't mind eating dinner at Abby's home, would you?"

Gibbs was completely lost. He didn't understand what's going on, and Gibbs did not like being in the dark. But in the end, he followed Briggs. Briggs knocked on the door three times to reveal a lady near Gibbs and Briggs' age. She started to use American Sign Language (ASL).

"_Jeffrey, we've been waiting_," the lady signed. She then looked over at Gibbs and her eyes widened. "_Is that you, Gibbs?_"

Gibbs nodded.

"_It's been a while Gloria_," Gibbs signed back, trying his best to sign when his hands were rather full.

"_Oh, come on in_." Gloria waved them inside the house.

They entered the house with Gibbs feeling a sudden rush of uneasiness. Gloria signed to them that she had to finish cooking first and would come out with the food when it's done. Not before long, they saw Abby enter the living room in her black T-shirt and black baggy pants.

Abby looked surprised to see Gibbs. She then looked over at Briggs with her eyes widened and her head cocked towards Gibbs, gesturing the reason why Gibbs was doing here. Briggs smiled yet shrugged.

"My date cancelled on me, and I needed help in finding some gifts for you. I chose him because he's the first person I saw. Sorry about that," Briggs spoke. He then looked over at Gibbs.

"Aren't you going to give your gifts to Abby?" Briggs asked. Gibbs cocked an eye at him questioningly.

"What?" Gibbs asked, surprised.

"You did pick them," Briggs told him. He then whispered in his ear, "One word of advice, you chose it, you give it."

Briggs then saw a rather bald young man enter the room. Gibbs knew it must be Abby's younger brother, Aaron.

"Ugh... visitors?" Aaron groaned. "So who's that gray-haired guy?"

Abby frowned before she elbowed Aaron.

"It's not gray. It's silver. His name is Gibbs, so leave him alone," Abby told him.

"Psh. Freak," Aaron said before he entered the kitchen.

"Sorry about that, Gibbs. Aaron just doesn't like me or my friends," Abby told Gibbs. Gibbs nodded, not minding. Well, he did mind when he told Abby she was a freak.

Abby returned to being bubbly again.

"Are those for me, Gibbs?" Abby asked, pointing at the black roses.

Gibbs nodded and gave it to her.

"They're beautiful," she said. A smile placed on her lips with a gleam in her eyes that made Gibbs smile right back.

"And this too," Gibbs said before giving her the wrapped up present. "Briggs paid for them."

Abby chuckled and nodded.

"I knew it! Briggs does that sometimes. Don't mind him," Abby told him.

"Well, I only paid for them. He chose it. He knows a lot about you more than me. Well, I should've known what you wanted, but I just don't know what a goth like you likes," Briggs defended. "But here's my gift to you."

Briggs then handed her the box. Abby held all of her gifts and smiled.

"You didn't have to buy me gifts, you know," Abby said.

"We wanted to. Just wanted to show you how much we really do care about you," Briggs told her. She smiled even brighter.

"Thanks, you guys are the greatest. I'll put these in my room. And of course, I'm going to put these roses in a vase. I'll be right back," Abby said before she hurriedly went into her room.

"See. She looks brighter already," Briggs told Gibbs.

"Tell me why you did that," Gibbs said, referring to the gifts.

"Sorry, Gibbs. I've got to help out Gloria. It's a gentlemanly thing to do," Briggs stated before he smiled brightly and whistling to the kitchen. Gibbs knew he didn't want to answer the question, but he wasn't that determined to find an answer. Gibbs was no busybody.

"_Such a strange man_," Gibbs thought before he too helped out Gloria with the food.

Gloria was rather surprised to have them help out, but she thanked them for their work. Gloria smiled when Briggs gave her the basket full of vegetables and fruits. Gloria seemed happy to see Gibbs as well. She hadn't seen him in years, and he hasn't changed that much. He was somewhat a mystery to her, and he still is. Gloria knew, though, that Gibbs' presence made Abby more happy.

When the food was done, Gibbs helped out setting the plates and eating utensils. Briggs helped out in taking the food out. He placed them in the middle of the table. Aaron was already sitting at the table, watching and mumbling incoherent words. Abby already finished putting her gifts down a few minutes ago, so she helped Briggs take out the food.

Abby was all smiles that night. They signed to each other, and everyone, other than Aaron, had a comfortable and fun time at dinner. Not only that, Gibbs was laughing. He hadn't laughed for a while. It was quite a bit out of character of him, but Abby is a work of miracle. Nobody denied that. And if anyone said otherwise, well, let's just say Gibbs would take care of that.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: To answer **Red Writer'**s question, I actually never thought about it but if I had to choose someone that would look like Briggs, I might pick Brandon Routh (if he aged beautifully), John Barrowman (if he dyed his hair black and is taller), or Jason Isaacs (not as similar as the other two, but I love his eyes) since they are still alive. The actors that I thought of are dead or too old to play the role. I'm not fond of Brandon Routh's voice for Briggs (not saying his voice is terrible, just not right for Briggs). Always thought Briggs had a light-hearted voice, somewhat soothing. In all, Brandon Routh with John Barrowman's voice and expressions and has Jason Isaac's eyes? And like I said, Briggs can be anyone you think he might be. Now that I think about it, I'll love to know your suggestions who you think Briggs would look like. Doesn't need to be an actor either. Thanks to **stareagle**'s comment, I do admit there are some plotholes, so I'll try my best to make it as believable as possible. I looked on Google again and it said that there was a superglue incident in which Abby put superglue on her stinky brother someplace. Didn't know what that meant, so I'm going to use that as reference. I do apologize if I got it wrong. Edit: I needed to make a small correction on Abby's and Briggs' relationship. A small thanks to **bbfan** for correcting me.

Chapter Six

After Aaron (Abby's brother), Briggs, and Gibbs left after dinner, Abby sat in her room near her desk. Dinner became perfect to Abby. Gibbs was there, and he was laughing. It was rather rare to see him laugh and it made dinner all the better. Her mom still remembered Gibbs and still likes him as well, which makes a big plus for Gibbs.

The only person that ruined the dinner was her brother, Aaron. He is the complete opposite of Abby. Ever since the superglue incident that made him bald since young, Aaron held a grudge against her. His hair never grew since then. He was bullied for being bald and for having a weird yet intellegent sister during their childhood. Even though he's twenty-five, every time Aaron meets her, he calls her a freak and disowns her as a sister. He was more of the type that anything that isn't considered "normal" should never exist, which includes Abby. Even if she hadn't done the superglue incident, her brother would've been rotten from the start. When their parents were made fun of for being deaf, he would join in making fun of them thus the reason for the superglue incident. And truthfully, Abby never regretted it.

But then, her mind eased with a smile on her face when she looked over at the gifts on her desk. Her elbows were on the desk and her chin on top of her clasped hands. She smiled dreamily while she looked at the black roses and the bracelet before her. Even though she knew Briggs tricked Gibbs, she still loved them when Gibbs personally gave it to her. That, to her, meant much more than Gibbs would ever think. She had to admit, her feelings towards Gibbs was much more than a crush. She didn't know when and how her perspective changed but slowly she noticed things she shouldn't have. She knew Gibbs' rule number twelve, and she knew there was no possibility between them as she isn't a red-head and always thought of her as his daughter or something of that sort. And truthfully, she didn't want to be another ex-wife if she ever married him.

"_Woah, I'm thinking too far. Can't believe I'm thinking about marriage_," Abby thought, shaking away unnecessary thoughts. "_Get some sleep, Abbs. You've got a big day ahead of you._"

Meanwhile, Gibbs laid on his bed, not sleeping but staring at the ceiling. He had to admit that dinner was great, but other thoughts came into mind. Abby wasn't coming back with him to D.C. He obviously wasn't happy about her decision. Now, he didn't know what to do. Maybe it's best for him to spend as much time with Abby as much as he can before he had get back to NCIS. One thing is for sure, he didn't like Briggs. At all. And one other thing, he hated this bed. It was too comfortable.

Gibbs sighed and gives up on trying to sleep. He didn't mind not sleeping at all since he is used to it, after all. He sat on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped and his head bowed down as if thinking. He would rather be at his home to work on his boat. It would make him think better that way. Sighing, he stood up and opened his luggage. He picked up a small bag that contained his coffee blend and walked out of his room. He was rather glad that there was some lighting in the vast, dark, and large mansion. He started walking around to find the kitchen, but he started to get impatient since he failed to find it. This is one of the reasons why he hated mansions. They were just too spacious and unnecessary.

"Ah, you need help?" A female's voice asked out from behind him. He saw a woman a meter away, but he couldn't recognize her because of the darkness covering her face.

She had gotten closer and then her face revealed to be Phoenix's. She was holding a big bag of cheese balls. And if she was holding a midnight snack, she must've just gotten from the kitchen. Gibbs hated to ask, but he really needed the coffee.

"Kitchen?" She asked as if she could read his mind before he spoke.

"Show me," Gibbs ordered more than asked.

She nodded and said, "Sure."

Phoenix just turned around and started walking with Gibbs behind her. After a few strides and a few turns, they finally got to the kitchen. Phoenix turned on the light switch for the room to reveal a very large kitchen. Phoenix sat on top of a bar stool on a counter and opened her bag of cheese puffs. Gibbs looked around to find the coffee maker but failed to find it before Phoenix finally spoke up.

"The top cupboard on the right next to you. Mugs are there as well," Phoenix said. Gibbs turned to look at her before he opened the cupboard she told him to open. And lo and behold, three expensive looking coffee makers with plenty of mugs of different shapes and sizes.

"Thanks," Gibbs said, not turning to face her as he said this. Phoenix just smiled and nodded as if he had eyes on his back.

It took several minutes before he was able to have a mug full of his coffee blend.

He sat on the stool next to Phoenix. Phoenix looked over at him while munching on her cheese puffs. Gibbs looked over at her before going back to drinking his coffee.

"It's rude to stare," Gibbs told her.

"Observation is key to understanding," Phoenix replied back. She pushed up her glasses when it started drooping.

"Use that talent on your criminals." He then sipped his black coffee.

Phoenix turned her attention to her cheese puffs.

"Our team is weird," Phoenix admitted. "All of us are so strange in our own way. That's how we make the perfect team."

Gibbs glanced at her a bit before he smirked and sipped his coffee again.

"My team is the same thing," Gibbs told her.

"Being weird or being a perfect team?"

"Both."

"Are you going to take Abby back with you?" Phoenix asked. She stopped eating her snack and waited for a reply.

"She wanted to stay for that year and a half she promised your team," Gibbs answered. His eyes drawn to his mug now.

"We'll take care of her, Gibbs. I promise that," Phoenix told him as if to reassure him. "Unless, it's not her being protected that you aren't worried about."

Gibbs glanced at her again before sipping his coffee.

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked rhetorically.

"How long is your stay here?" The young woman asked him, changing the subject.

"Two months," Gibbs answered. She cocked an eyebrow as if there was something was wrong with his answer.

"Isn't it a bit too long for a NCIS team in D.C. to take?" Phoenix asked.

"Already have replacements. It's a trial that Leon wanted to try out," Gibbs told her.

"Leon?"

"Director of NCIS," Gibbs replied. Phoenix started to munch on her snack again.

"You call him by Leon?" Phoenix's eyes looked rather interested now.

"Why not?"

"Hm... point taken. But why would the Director want to make that sort of trial?"

"NCIS work is highly dangerous. If a whole NCIS team is taken down, replacements are in order. He wanted to see if the replacements can make a good enough team. If it doesn't work out, our team will go back to D.C." Gibbs explained. He disliked talking this much, but Phoenix wasn't as bad as the other two members.

"I see," she told him before munching again. When she finished the whole bag, she sighed. Phoenix got up and threw the empty bag into the trash.

She then turned to look at Gibbs and said, "She's really happy to see you."

Gibbs gave her a questioning look but she only replied with a "good night" and left the kitchen.

About two hours later, he went back to his room and started to lie on his bed. He wouldn't have any sleep tonight, and he knew it, not just by the coffee but his thoughts as well. It was rather eventful for a first day, and he had hoped it wouldn't be this eventful in the days that come. All the while, he wanted to know the relationship between Abby and Briggs.

The only clues he knows is that Abby knows Briggs before she did with him. Gloria knows him as well and he knows how to sign, which is a big shocker to Gibbs. Briggs visits her everyday. He also brings in her favorite Caf-Pow. He is very close to her as she lets him hug her and kiss her on the head. It was as if Briggs was replacing him.

But then again, Briggs tricked him into giving Abby the roses and the bracelet that Gibbs thought would be perfect for Abby. He didn't understand why he would do that, but Gibbs did notice how Abby looked when she received them. All smiles. With that thought, he yawned and started to drift off to sleep.

The next morning was eventful. At the dining table, it was like a breakfast feast. Briggs team were already eating. He saw how Tony just grabbed quite a bit of food. Ziva only had a fruit salad. Tim had just a small amount of breakfast with the right nutrition in the morning, maybe that was why he was getting skinny. Ducky only had a bagel with some butter on top. Jimmy had only cereal with milk. As for Gibbs, he just wanted coffee and maybe a bit of toast. He was rather surprised everyone woke up early this morning with such lively expressions, especially Tony. But right now, he didn't care that much as he just wanted his coffee.

Gibbs then snatched a toast and went into the kitchen to brew his coffee. When he came inside, there were so many people in there, mostly the chefs, maids, and cooks. One of the maids smiled and looked over at him.

"Do you need something? I will get it for you," she told Gibbs. Gibbs looked down at her with a frown.

"I can help myself," he told her, giving her a look. The maid was rather afraid of him so she just nodded and walked away. He started his way to the cupboard that he found the coffee maker last night. He opened to see only one available unlike yesterday when there's three. He started to make his coffee while all the chefs and cooks inside just stared at him for a minute before working again. Gibbs never thought a kitchen can be this crowded until now. A few people bumped into him, which Gibbs replied with a deadly look and sometimes a growl while his mug was about to be filled. As a result, they apologized and scurried off. The lesson they learned was never bump into Gibbs when he brews his coffee. What they should've learned is to never try Gibbs' temper when he didn't have his coffee yet.

"Morning, everyone," Briggs greeted his kitchen staff. Everyone in the kitchen smiled and said a "good morning" to him back before they worked again.

"Ah, the smell of coffee," Briggs said with a smile. "Although, I prefer tea instead."

"Here's your tea and newspaper, Mr. Briggs," said one of the maids who just put his cup of tea on the nearest counter for him to take while holding out a newspaper for him to take from her hands.

"Call me Briggs or Jeffrey, Jennifer, was it?" Briggs said with a smile and a wink. This made the maid blush while it made Gibbs roll his eyes.

"_So Tony-like_," Gibbs thought.

"I don't believe in being called "mister" just yet, not until I'm married and have kids," Briggs continued to the maid who just smiled shyly and nodded before she went on her way to do her daily duties. And of course, she made a faint squeal of joy when she was a bit far off from earshot.

Briggs noticed Gibbs and started striding towards him. Gibbs was finally happy when his mug was filled and started sipping. He turned around to look over at Briggs and nodded.

"I see you are a coffee lover like Abby. I don't know when she was so fond of Caf-Pow! but when she first came to work, her first question was if there's any Caf-Pow! here in New Orleans. And luckily, this place had a shop that sold that kind and is just a mile away from the NCIS building," Briggs rambled early in the morning. It was one thing when Abby rambled, but it was another when it came to Briggs. It just irritated Gibbs.

"I'm not in the mood to talk," Gibbs warned him. Briggs looked over at him and shrugged.

"I tend to talk a lot early in the morning. I've got to admit it's one of my bad qualities. Let's go to the dining room, shall we? I've got to show your team something before we leave for work," Briggs told him.

Gibbs started leaving with Briggs behind him. Briggs smiled and put down his tea on the dining table and saw that pretty much everyone was finished with their breakfast, except for Phoenix.

"Well, everyone from the D.C. team come with me, please. I would like to show you something," Briggs said brightly.

Confused yet willing, the whole group left to follow Briggs. They walked a long path outside to the left of the mansion and stopped to meet a very large garage that wasn't connected to the mansion like most garages are.

Briggs smiled before he pressed a button next to the opening of the garage and spoke into it like it was an intercom. He only said one word and it was "open".

"Voice recognition," Briggs said, pointing at what he just talked into.

Everyone nodded even though they really didn't care. Well, maybe, Jimmy. After a few seconds of waiting, the garage opened to reveal rows and rows of different vehicles from cars to trucks to vans. Everyone's mouths opened wide, except for Gibbs. Tony looked as if tearing up and felt as thoug he is in car heaven.

"_This is wasting time_," Gibbs thought.

"It isn't good to only use a rented car and a big van when most of you want to go out, right? Best to pick a car for yourselves so there wouldn't be any more inconvenience,"

"You sure?" McGee asked. "There's a lot of cars. There isn't any time for being picky."

"Oh, I'm showing it to you now so that you could think about the options to speed up the process of picking the car you want. So did everyone at least have a car in mind before we leave?" Briggs asked.

Almost everyone replied with a "yes" except for Gibbs and Tony, who the latter was still staring gloriously at the cars and almost drooled as well. And of course, Gibbs slapped the back of his head and the sudden shift of attitude changed. He stood straight, smoothed his jacket, and nodded before saying a clear "yes". Everyone started to get away from the garage and Briggs closed the garage through the same method that the garage opened. Everyone started leaving except for Tony and Ziva. Tony whimpered when the garage slowly closed before him. It gave another smack to the head, except it was from Ziva.

"Let's go, loverboy," Ziva told him before dragging Tony away.

Not before long, both teams, Ducky, and Jimmy were greeted by the hugging Abby frenzy.

"What took you guys so long?" Abby asked before she gave the forensic reports to Briggs and Gibbs for the next case.

She explained what she found while rambling her scientific terms. Briggs and Gibbs just smiled before Gibbs finally interrupted her that she finally stopped. She looked over at him and smiled brightly before she summed everything up in a sentence. Her reward was a kiss on the cheek by Gibbs and a kiss on the head by Briggs at the same time before they both hugged her, Gibbs first and Briggs second.

"Wow, double reward. I like," Abby told them with a teasing smirk.

"Well, we'd better go to the crime scene and check if there's anything else that we've missed. All the while, question anyone that was there at the crime scene," Briggs said.

"Gear up," Gibbs ordered.

Both teams left with their own teams. Ducky and Palmer stayed with Abby and started to chat.

"Abigail, you seem to have been adjusted to this NCIS team quite nicely. Briggs seems to take care of you very well," Ducky told her. Abby shrugged.

"Well, he's the one that helped me find my Abbyness," Abby said before they started to walk to her forensics' room to chat.

"And what do you mean by that?" Jimmy asked, being curious.

"Well, I was always the outcast when I was in school as a child. When all the girls were into barbie dolls and Easy bake, I was more into computers and deciphering complex codes in webpages. I was always teased for that. Briggs was the one that gave me comforting words, to be myself and only myself. And you know, I grew up being the Abby you all know and love. Even though I had scholarships for college, he's the one that would support me when I needed it the most. He's Gibbs before I met Gibbs," Abby explained. Jimmy nodded while Ducky smiled.

"Tell me, Abby. Is Briggs part of your family? Are you two related?" Ducky asked. Abby gasped in surprise. Jimmy was also surprised.

"How do you know?" Abby asked.

"For one, you've known him since small. Secondly, you both have the same hair color and strikingly similar expressions. Thirdly, he has the same sort of something that you have. I can't put my finger on it, but it just gives... Oh yes, now I know, character. You both have the same sort of character," Ducky said.

"Character?" Jimmy asked.

"Like... how should I say? Like a vibe I should call it. The way you both nod your heads, the littlest things that he does are similar to you Abigail," Ducky furthered in his explanations while gesturing.

"Now that you mention it, Doctor Mallard. I do see a similar resemblance," Jimmy said with a nod before adjusting his glasses.

"Bingo, you've got me," Abby said with a smile. "Briggs is actually my grandfather's brother's son, which makes him my first cousin once removed."

"Why are you hiding this? It doesn't seem harmful," Ducky said.

"It may seem that way but it isn't at all, Ducky. If the wrong people were to find out that I'm related to him, my family and I would be in danger. My little brother doesn't know he's related to Briggs at all, and it needs to stay that way," Abby said before she sighed. "I don't want to see that tragedy happening again."

Ducky and Palmer gave her a questioning look but thought it was better not to ask the past when it wasn't necessary. They left a few minutes later as they wanted to drive around to tour New Orleans.

A few hours later, Gibbs and Briggs entered Abby's forensics room and gave her three bags of evidence while Briggs placed her Caf-Pow! on the usual place. She took the bags and placed them on the table before giving Briggs and Gibbs a hug, which they replied by hugging her back with a kiss on the cheek by Gibbs and on the head by Briggs. Soon after, she started working on the evidence right away. Abby thought they already left like usual but they didn't. And of course, she was startled when she saw them still standing near her door.

"Is there anything else?" Abby asked, giving them a confused look as if they weren't supposed to be here.

"Abbs, Aaron visited the victim the night he was killed," Gibbs suddenly revealed, which shocked Abby greatly.

"Aaron? You don't mean my brother, Aaron, do you? Don't shock me like that Gibbs. There's plenty of Aarons out there," Abby said, trying to lie to herself but knowing he meant her brother. "It can't be Aaron."

Gibbs said nothing but gave her a look that told her that he really did talk about Aaron Sciuto. Abby shook her head. Not long after, she stood tall and stared at them like she was a deer staring at headlights.

"And- and so? It doesn't mean he killed him," Abby told them both.

"Some witnesses said Aaron and some others started ganging up on him because he's a gay marine. His death may be due to being a hate crime, and he's involved in it," Briggs said with a solemn look. Abby walked over towards her boombox and stopped her music with a frown on her face.

"I- I'll get to work," Abby whispered, loud enough for them to hear.

"I'm sorry, Abbs," Briggs apologized.

"No. No apologies. Apologizing is a sign of weakness and I'm sure my brother isn't a killer. He may use words to hurt people, but he would never physically hurt or kill anyone. I know him. I'll show you and everyone else. My brother isn't a killer," Abby said, her eyes hard and confident. "I'll show you my brother is innocent!"

Gibbs and Briggs looked over at each other, knowing this would be hard on Abby. They could've said nothing to her about her brother being involved, but she would be more pissed off if they didn't say anything to her beforehand. It was never easy on anyone that had someone close involved in a crime. Everyone in the Gibbs team knew how it felt. They would always find a way to find them innocent. Some were but some not. Hopefully, for everyone's sake especially Abby's, Aaron would be found innocent.

Gibbs and Briggs left her alone to work while they had to do the hard job, questioning Aaron Sciuto. Gloria would surely be surprised and that was the last thing they wanted to do. Hopefully, it wouldn't strain their relationship with her.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: I guess after the next chapter the intensity increases. Not too sure if it would be after the next chapter or the chapter after that. I'm not boasting, but I can be pretty good at drama (well, dialogue wise), so there may be tear-jerkers, I guess? Oh yeah, I just noticed I posted most of my chapters after eight reviews for each chapter. Well, except for Chapter two. That's kind of weird, and I just noticed that too.

Chapter Seven

Three people sat in the interrogration room. Briggs and Gibbs sat across the table from Aaron Sciuto, who seemed to shift his eyes to the door and back to them.

"Why am I here?" Aaron asked, his voice showing how afraid he is.

"Do you know a marine by the name of Lance Corporal Phillip Harts?" Briggs asked before showing a picture of him in his uniform.

"Hardly," he told them. His eyes quickly averting the picture after he saw the Lance Corporal.

"Well, we found him dead nine days ago. Pretty badly beaten before he was shot six times and found a letter "G" carved onto his skin," Briggs told him. Gibbs showed him a few pictures of Phillip Harts.

The pictures showed him nude with his feet and hands tied. He was beaten rather badly with bruises and scars all over his body. A giant letter "G" embedded onto the front of his body. The victim's eyes were wide open, hinting he was afraid when he died. Six bullets are clearly seen on his body with a few scratches everywhere.

"Take those pictures away!" Aaron yelled, looking sick and averting his eyes from those pictures once again.

"Where were you around ten o'clock?" Briggs asked.

"I- I was at home," Aaron lied, he tightened his grasp at the end of his shirt.

"There was a witness that said you spoke to him the day of the murder. Why were you there?" Gibbs yelled while pounding his fist on the table.

"If you are asking me if I killed him, I didn't. I just... said a few words and then left. That's all. I didn't do anything else," Aaron told them, his voice shivering from fear.

"What were these few words that you spoke to Harts?" Briggs asked, now looking serious and his voice sharp.

"I'm not telling," Aaron answered. "I want a lawyer!"

"This isn't the FBI, Aaron. This is NCIS. If you don't want your ass in the cell, tell us everything. Now!" Briggs yelled. His fist pounded on the table.

"You guys are all on that freak's side. You just want to put me in jail for good. I know you are her friends. She always hated me and I hate her for being such a freak. My life would be much better if she didn't exist!" He yelled. And before he knew it, he was pushed against the wall by the two bosses. Both of them were greatly pissed off.

"If you say that again, we will personally not hold back," Briggs growled.

"And we wouldn't give a damn if you're Abby's brother," Gibbs barked.

A few knocks on the door were heard before McGee entered. By the looks of it, they were not too happy that McGee interfered. This made McGee gulp and want to cower in fear at both bosses' demonic glare.

"Damn it, McGee. What is it?" Gibbs yelled.

"Well, boss, you see," McGee stuttered before Gibbs let go of Aaron. He left and closed the door behind him.

"Well," Gibbs asked impatiently and still angry.

"Ms. Sciuto, Abby's mother, is here. She wants to see Abby and Aaron. She wouldn't leave until she sees them or so says the ASL translator," McGee said. Gibbs was now more angry before he punched the wall.

"Where's Abby?" Gibbs asked.

"Seeing her mom right now. Abby told me to tell you that the bullets are being tested now and it will take at least two hours since some of the bullets aren't from the same gun. She found some prints on the whip and on the bat. The ones who battered the guy weren't smart enough to cover their prints," McGee said.

Gibbs nodded before giving out a sigh and rubbing his right temple.

"What should we do about Aaron, boss?" McGee asked. Gibbs glared over at him.

"We can't let him leave just yet. We need him to talk. If he spoke to Gloria, he will keep his mouth silent," Gibbs told him. Suddenly, McGee's phone rang.

"McGee," McGee answered. Gibbs watched him nodding and saying "okay" before he closed his cell phone.

"Abby spoke to her mom, and she is taking her mother home," McGee informed him. Gibbs nodded.

"_Good job, Abbs_," Gibbs thought before going into the interrogation room again.

He found Aaron cowering against the wall with Briggs staring at him.

"Did you know what your sister said when she heard that you were involved?" Briggs asked.

"Most likely say that I deserved it," Aaron muttered but not daring to say it loud enough.

"She-" Briggs started but Gibbs interrupted him.

"She said she'll have proof that you are innocent and believes you didn't kill anyone," Gibbs said darkly.

Aaron looked over at him, surprised to hear that from Abby.

"She- she said that?" Aaron asked, shocked to hear it.

"Abby cares for you, Aaron. She may not show it, but she does. Even if you have different views, she still believes that you won't do such a cold-hearted thing," Briggs told him, his anger no longer shown on his face before letting go of him.

"I... I told the guy to run," Aaron finally confessed. Briggs and Gibbs smiled that they were going getting somewhere now.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"Because of the people I was with, the guys with the same views that I have, wanted to beat the crap out of him. I couldn't let that happen, so I went up to the guy and told him to run. I left right away, so I wouldn't be caught. Those guys are relentless. If they knew I ratted them out, my daughter, my mom and Abby would be in danger. That's why I had to keep it mum," Aaron said.

"Who are they?" Briggs asked.

"If I tell you, you must not tell them I told. Even if they are in jail, there are others like them that would hunt down the rats. I don't want to endanger my mom, my child, and... _my sister_," Aaron told them, quietly whispering the word "my sister".

"We won't," Gibbs told him.

"You'll protect my family if they ever find out that I told, right?" Aaron asked, looking for reassurance towards the two bosses.

"Yes," they both answered in unison.

"Then I'll tell you, they are..." Aaron started before he listed the five criminals.

After he finished naming the suspects, he asked for another favor. He wanted them to temporarily put him jail as the main suspect. Gibbs and Briggs looked at each other for a bit before nodding.

"You don't want them to think you told on them?" Briggs asked as Aaron replied with a nod.

"Anything to keep my family safe," Aaron told them.

"You're not as bad as I thought," Gibbs said. Aaron smiled sadly.

"It's through something like this that I had to learn my lesson," Aaron said. Briggs showed him the handcuffs and Aaron nodded in response. Aaron turned around with his his hands behind his back and Briggs cuffed him.

"If we're going to fake it, we have to fake it all the way," Briggs said.

"You guys aren't going to beat me up, are you?" Aaron asked. "Like... in the movies?"

Gibbs smirked and shook his head.

"You watch way too many movies," Gibbs said. "It only happens to people that I don't like."

And of course, it was meant to be a joke, but Aaron thought otherwise.

"I'm not on that list, am I?" Aaron asked.

"You'll see," Gibbs said with a smirk.

Meanwhile, when Gibbs and Briggs were finished interrogating Aaron, both teams' subordinates watched the whole deal.

"Whoa! Never knew your boss could get this pissed off," Tony said.

"He's not always smiles and nicey-nice. He only uses this pissed off version of himself to make people confess," Lily replied, before crossing her arms with a frown. "Still can't believe that guy is Abby's brother."

"Other than that, Gibbs' joke is _horrible_. C'mon, you don't tell Abby's brother that he beats up people he doesn't like. It scared him half to death," Tony emphasized "horrible". Ziva and Moon shrugged.

"I thought it was funny," Ziva said.

"I don't like Gibbs, but I thought it was funny as well," Moon said.

"You guys have bad sense of humor," Tony said before being slapped in the back of his head. Tony was about to curse until he turned around to see Gibbs. He shut his mouth and stood in an about-face manner.

"Find these five people," ordered Gibbs' giving Tony the piece of paper of the five likely suspects that killed Phillip Harts.

"On it, boss. Gear up, people," Tony said before Gibbs team left.

"As for you three, I want you to watch over Abby and Gloria. If anything, there would likely be harrassments and such if we catch the five responsible for Harts' death," Briggs said to his team members.

They nodded and left immediately. It was only Briggs and Gibbs inside the room. Something about the air suddenly changed. An awkwardness filled between them. Gibbs and Briggs couldn't visit Abby since she wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes or so. Suddenly, Briggs decided on something for them to do.

"Gibbs, help me do something special for Abby after this case," Briggs told him.

"Gifts won't help this time," Gibbs stated in an almost bored tone.

"But I know one thing that would," Briggs said. "And it would even make Gloria less unhappy with us. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"And..." Gibbs asked, one of his eyes narrowed in a questioningly manner. His gut feeling meant that it was something that Gibbs didn't like.

"Heh, you'll know," Briggs said.

Meanwhile, at Gloria's home, Abby tried to coax her mom from crying. This case had hurt them both. She had confidence that her brother wouldn't kill, but she was afraid that the evidence that she had can go against her brother. If that happened, she would be the one that put him in jail, and it would be all her fault.

When Gloria noticed Abby's expression, she stopped crying and held her daughter close to her. She let her go and began to sign.

"_It will be all right, Abigail_," her mother signed.

"_I'm afraid mom. I know Aaron wouldn't kill, but there's a chance it can go against him. It'll be my fault that I put my own brother in jail_," Abigail signed back.

"_Whatever happens, Abigail. Do your best at your job. If Aaron did do this, we must accept what may come_."

Abigail gasped at her mother. She couldn't be giving up on Aaron.

"_But mom, I know for sure Aaron wouldn't do this_."

"_Then do your job. I'm okay now_," her mother signed and gave Abby a hug before kissing on the top of her head.

"_Are you sure?_"

Gloria nodded, giving her daughter a small smile.

"_I believe in you, Abigail_," her mom replied.

Abby stared at her for a bit before nodding confidently. She gave her mom a hug before she started to walk towards her car. When she was about to go into her car, a guy suddenly attacked her with a knife at her neck.

Abby was, of course, scared but remembered the self-defense classes she had with Ziva. And when she came over here, she was taught a bit more by Moon. She learned quite a lot. And of course, it doesn't take long for Abby to get it once she had the hang of it.

She stepped on the man's foot. The man yelped and then Abby elbowed him in the stomach before taking his wrist that held the knife and slamming it against her car. The knife fell from his hand and she pulled the arm around towards his his back. She then kick at the back of his legs where the knees bend, making him kneel before she slammed him on the ground. All of this had been done quickly without any casualties. Well, except for the perpetrator. Luckily, the Briggs' team was here on time. Moon took her place and cuffed him.

"Good job, Abby. You did a lot better than when I taught you," Moon told her. Abby smiled and shrugged.

"Nobody messes with Abby," Abby said.

"You've got that right. I'll take the guy for questioning," Lily said before Moon pulled him up. Lily smiled at the guy before she kicked him on the stomach.

"Never hurt a girl," Lily said before she took him to her car and whistled.

"Remind me never to upset Lily," Abby said. Moon smiled.

"Don't worry. She does that to men who hurts females," Moon told her. Abby giggled in response but then wondered why the they were here.

"Why are you guys here anyways?" Abby asked.

"Watching you and your mom. Making sure both of you are safe," Moon told her.

"What about Aaron's daughter?"

"Phoenix is already there. She'll bring the daughter here, so there wouldn't be any hassle for those guys to come separately."

"I'll trust you to protect my mom, then. I have to get back to check on the evidence," Abby said before Moon nodded.

"Be careful on your way," Moon said. Abby nodded in reply before giving him a hug and told him to be safe as well.

After they said their goodbyes, Abby immediately drove back to NCIS and went to the forensics room, checking up on everything. It would take another hour before she could get anything from the bullets. Luckily, the prints from the bat and the whip were identified to be from two different people, not belonging to her brother. One of those guys was the man that just attacked her at Gloria's house.

Not before long, the two bosses came into her workplace. Gibbs handed her a Caf-Pow! with a red straw that held a heart that said 'I love you' on it, and she received it welcomingly before hugging Gibbs. A smile forming on her face. Briggs gave her a single black rose to cheer her up. Abby hugged him as well and took it.

"Thanks for cheering me up, guys," Abby told them, smiling like the usual Abby they know. "I'm fine. After talking to my mom, I have to treat this case as any other case, and I'm confident that Aaron has nothing to do with the death of Lance Corporal Phillip Harts."

"Good. We were worried about you," Briggs told her. "Did anything happen when you were at Gloria's place?"

Abby flashbacked her mind to the guy who put the knife to her neck and looked over at them. Hopefully, they wouldn't get pissed off by the news. She couldn't lie to them either. She remembered well how Gibbs became when she hid the fact of her relationship with Mikel Mawher and how it ended up endangering her.

"Well, don't get upset when you hear this, okay?" Abby started. And this, of course, got the two bosses' attention.

"What happened?" Gibbs said, his voice serious just as his expression.

"Heh, it's a funny story though. You'll laugh after this, and I handled it easily so just stay calm when I finish," Abby said, a little nervous. The bosses didn't say anything, so it was a cue for her to finish.

"There was a guy who put a knife to my neck. And of course, I was scared at first, but I managed to take him down. All thanks to Ziva and Moon teaching me self-defense lessons. Moon cuffed him and Lily took him up for questioning..." Before she finished, Gibbs already left the room. Only Briggs stayed, but he was close to leaving as well.

"_So much for staying calm_," Abby thought, regretting the chaos that she may have made. She knew how protective Gibbs could be.

"Finish," Briggs stated seriously. Abby flinched whenever he saw Briggs like this. It was one of those rare times he gets pissed.

"Well, that guy who I caught, his prints are on the bat that battered Lance Corporal Phillip Harts," she said.

Briggs gave her a kiss and told her she did a good job before leaving swiftly to take care of the guy who tried to hurt Abby. And coincidentally, one of the main suspects that killed Harts.

"_They should make a rule for this. Never-hurt-Abby rule. Wonder what number that would be_," Abby thought before going back to work.

"_Silent rule number one, don't mess with Abby. He's going to get it_," Gibbs thought before striding to the interrogation room.

He opened the door with a bang to reveal a rather surprised scene- a calm Lily and a rather scared guy, who cowered in the corner away from the door.

"What the heck happened to him?" Gibbs asked, surprised.

"He took the risk of trying me. I explained to him in great, excruciating detail at the many ways people can be tortured. It'll make him wet his bed for days," Lily said before smiling. She stood up and gave Gibbs a few notes.

"He confessed. Five people, including him," Lily said. Her lips close to his ears and whispered, "It's exactly the same people."

Gibbs nodded before Lily strided off, whistling some sort of song. Gibbs looked over at the cowering guy, who had seemed to already pissed in his pants. This made Gibbs smirk yet disgusted at the same time. Not long before, Briggs came in. He was rather surprised as well.

"What did you do to him, Gibbs?" Briggs asked.

"Don't ask me. Your subordinate did this to him. Lily Gray, was it?" Gibbs said. Briggs sighed, putting a hand on the side of his head while shaking his head in disapproval. All the while, a hidden smile placed on his lips.

"That's why I rarely let Lily interrogate people. Must be from him putting a knife at Abby. She never liked guys hurting women," Briggs said. "I'll call someone to take him away. And of course, ask someone to clean this room."

Briggs left which made Gibbs watch the criminal. He didn't need to close the door since the man before him seemed frozen in his cowering position, so he wouldn't be running away. And if he did, he was able to stop him. It took ten minutes for a guard to take him. As soon as he got his hold on him, the guard's nose immediately scrunched from the stench.

"Disgusting. You're a grown man, but you wet your pants?" The guard asked before he held his nose. The man only whimpered.

Gibbs left the room and called Tony's cell to confirm the five suspects and that they had one in custody.

"Okay, boss. We found one of the guys as well, and I think I found the last murder weapon," Tony said, holding a small knife with his gloved hand. All the while, Ziva held down the struggling butcher. The butcher used the knife as his self-defense. It was a similar description that Abby gave in her report, in which the "G" on Harts' body was carved.

"Okay then. You three get the others," Gibbs ordered on the other side.

"Will do, boss," Tony said and Gibbs immediately closed his cell.

Tony barked orders like he had done so many times before when Gibbs was absent and made him temporary leader.

"_Two down. Three more to go_," Tony thought before completing his thought with, "_Never mess with the Abbmeister_."

"Ready to go, Tony?" Ziva asked after she finished putting the struggling butcher inside the van with McGee watching him.

"Yeah. When will these guys ever learn to not mess with Abby? She's the bossman's favorite. And of course, me being the second favorite," Tony stated.

"Oh no no, Tony. You're wrong there. I'm the second favorite," Ziva said. "I catch most of our suspects."

Tony chuckled before saying, "That's very funny, Ziva. But if you hadn't forgotten, he let me become temporary leader _and_..." He emphasized the word "and" before finishing it with, "he slapped me on the back of my head more times than any of the team members."

"And why is being slapped on the back of the head so special?" Ziva asked, confused and curious to know the answer.

"Haven't you heard love hurts? It's his own way of showing he cares," Tony said prouldy before Ziva shook her head.

"You and this country's weird customs," Ziva said before walking to the van.

Tony's eyes widened and ran after her before saying, "I'm driving. Not letting you kill me this time."

Ziva smirked before saying, "Too bad, Tony. I've got the keys."

She then started running to the van and immediately got to the driver's seat. When McGee saw this, his face became horrified. He immediately wore his belt. All the while, the suspect watched in confusion.

"Sorry, but it's all man for himself," McGee told the suspect. "Can't believe Tony let Ziva drive."

"I didn't. She had the keys before I knew it," Tony corrected him.

The two groaned when the engine started and off the van went with Ziva's foot on the gas pedal. As for the not-so-lucky suspect, he had been tossed all about, slamming against the sides of the car and slamming against the leather-bound car seats in front of him. If anything, his neck would have the most pain from his head being jerked around.

Meanwhile, Abby finally had gotten the results for the bullets. Three different guns were used. She typed a few things in her computer and found some lists of people that owned the guns. Three people on the suspected lists were found, and none of them was her brother. And of course, Abby jumped up and down happily.

"Yes! Yes!" Abby yelled, tears of joy forming in her eyes, but she would not let them fall.

She called Gibbs and told him that she found the members on the list who owned the three guns. After she did that, all she had to do now was wait for the teams to interrogate the suspects into spilling the members that killed the Lance Corporal, so it may seem that they told on each other. All the while, her brother would be scot-free and safe from any accusations from the group he had been with.

Abby smiled and finally sat down on her chair in relief.

"For scaring me half to death, I am so giving you a big Abby hug when you get out of this, Aaron," Abby muttered under her breath, knowing full well her brother wouldn't hear this.

She then looked over at the Caf-Pow! Gibbs gave her and sipped it happily. The black rose given to her by Briggs lay next to Bert, the farting hippo. She picked up Bert and squeezed him in a hug many times giggling happily. Abby became so excited and energized that she started to dance to her music. When she finished her happy dance, she kissed the heart-shaped "I love you" straw and smiled at it gratefully.

"My lucky charm," she whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ziva, McGee, and Tony got the suspects in no time. They also found the murder weapons on them, so it wasn't hard to get them. The three put up a good fight, but it was nothing that Ziva can't handle. On the other hand, the thing that scared the suspects the most was Ziva's driving. One of the suspects even saw his life flash before his eyes when he was tossed all about like the other members. And of course, the suspects didn't sit at the same seat. One sat with McGee; one sat with Tony; and the one that caused the most trouble sat in the back trunk. The Gibbs team didn't allow them to wear seat belts. Oh no, they didn't deserve it. They had to suffer for what they did.

Not long after they just got out of the van, one of the suspects vomitted on the grass. The suspect was held by none other than Tony DiNozzo. Ziva smirked and McGee tried to hold back a laugh. Poor Tony. Thankfully, the guy didn't puke on his shoes. But just as Tony thought that, the suspect turned to him and puked near his beloved shoes, and it must be Gucci, no less. Tony held back a whimper when one of his shoes became dirtied. Ziva chuckled this time.

"Oh, shut it, Ziva," he told her. He took out his handkerchief and cleaned the grime off his shoe. Disgusted, he put the dirtied handkerchief into the suspect's shirt pocket before pushing the guy to the NCIS building. All the while, he cursed under his breath.

As for the others, Ziva held two of the suspects. If they did anything, she would make them regret it. And well, the suspects never learn. One of the suspects tried to get out of her grasp, but Ziva managed to use her moves with only her legs to make him lie on the ground. Her foot standing on top of his body.

"Would you like to try what he did?" She asked the other suspect, giving him a smirk to put more fear into him. Immediately, the guy shook his head "no".

"Good," was all she said to him.

The last one was held by McGee. The suspect was smart enough to just keep quiet and get it over with. He knew the cops, or NCIS for that matter, would be coming for him. He knew he would be in jail. He just wanted to rid the world of all the freaks-of-nature, or so he calls them. But of course, he also felt the adrenaline rush when he killed the man. He liked the feel and that he admitted. He never knew he was a sick man; he just thought it was all for the good of mankind.

Not very long, Briggs came out of the building on time, relieving Ziva of one of the suspects even though it wasn't necessary. And of course, the three members of the Gibbs team followed Gibbs' rule and separated the suspects, so they wouldn't interact.

One of the suspects was already in the interrogation room. The man sat still. His arms crossed, one of his legs fidgeting up and down, and his eyes glaring with anger. On the other side of the mirror, Gibbs watched Briggs way of interrogating people.

It took a while for the suspect to the crack. Gibbs smiled when the suspect finally took the bait and confessed. Soon after, the guard took him away. When the suspect passed his friends, he looked over at them.

"It's not my fault! It's all that Nick Benson's. I knew he's a coward!" He yelled before leaving.

The next one was the butcher, and it was Gibbs turn to interrogate the suspect. With a few stares and a few words, the butcher thought it wasn't so bad until Gibbs revealed his true technique in interrogation. He used manipulation and told a few white lies before the butcher revealed everything. He was the one that used the whip. He confessed that Aaron Sciuto had nothing to do with the brutality and killing of the Lance Corporal. He then said it was all Eric Owens' idea, the leader and the mind of the team. The butcher gave a little more information than the suspect before him. Briggs smiled. When the guard took that man away, Gibbs came into the room that was next door to the interrogation room.

"Cracked him faster than you did," Gibbs said with a victory smirk. "And got more info out of him too."

"I admit my defeat. Now, let's see how well your subordinates do," Briggs said with Gibbs shrugging in reply.

"Sure," Gibbs told him.

Ziva was allowed to interrogate the next suspect, who was the one that puked on Tony's shoes. Ziva smiled. She just stared at him happily. The suspect felt relaxed now, thinking he had the nice person. Not long after, Ziva slammed her hand on the desk and started yelling. If the suspect's eyes widened any further, his eyes would have popped out. She then described many gruesome tales that she had done before to suspects that kept to themselves. Those tales quickly made the suspect confess and sick to the stomach. Not long after he was taken out by the guard, he puked once more, and this time it was on the guard's uniform.

"I'd better be paid extra for this," the guard muttered.

As for the last, Tony took him. There was some sort of strange air about the leader of the pack named Eric Owens. His expression was calm, too calm for any suspect to have. Ziva knew that look and so did Briggs and Gibbs.

"He's one of those cold-hearted killers that seem to be satisfied in killing," Ziva said.

"This one may be hard to crack," Briggs whispered, his eyes serious again. "The look in his eyes looks like the same as the killer that killed my daughter."

Briggs was now deep in thought as if remembering something painful. Gibbs looked over at him, surprised to know he had a daughter. He wondered if he was the same as him. And then, thoughts of the past filled his mind once more. He missed them, Shannon and Kelly. He wanted to see his little girl grow up and his wife still at home, welcoming him home for the hard work he'd done.

Not soon after, a loud cackle emitted in the interrogation room. Briggs and Gibbs head shot up to look at what had occurred. Tony turned around, confused.

Tony only asked him a few questions while quoting movie lines or just babbled on and on about a movie. When, all of a sudden, the guy cackled. He was crazed, that bit was sure. His eyes held such a venomous note in him.

"It's my first kill. I loved it," Eric confessed without trying to even get out of it like the other suspects. "Those gays and lesbians, they deserved it. I was getting rid of menaces of the world. After I killed that gay marine, I had my eyes on Aaron Sciuto's sister. You see, when I heard how Aaron hated that woman, I was quite interested. And when I saw her about two weeks ago, my eyes saw blood. Blood dripping on that delicate white skin of hers. Oh, it'll be nice to see her scream in pain like that marine. It makes me wet just thinking about it."

Tony became still. His eyes looked murderous. And not long after, he kicked the suspect's chair, Owens fell back. Tony then stood up, his chair scooting back forcefully before he went around the table and picked him up by the collar. His face was mere inches away from Owens'.

"You sick bastard!" Tony yelled before slamming him against the wall. Soon after, Gibbs, Ziva, and Briggs came in. They were all angry and ready to kill the guy even though they wouldn't... yet.

Eric laughed. He had so much fun pissing off the special agents before him. But the thought of Abby gave him an adrenaline rush.

"I heard from Aaron that she's working here. I want to see her again and tell her that she'll be next," Eric said. This gave him a punch on the face by Tony.

"You'd better stop it," Tony warned, venom sounded in his voice.

"It may not be by me, but I would love to see it on television on how she had been tortured. Oh, I could imagine it now. Her smooth skin bruised and scarred," he continued, not caring. He loved describing what he would do to Abby. The pain is almost non-existent to him.

"Stop it!" Ziva yelled. He ignored the order and continued.

"Her delicate doll-like face disfigured. Mmm... I wonder how her blood tastes," Eric told them. Not long after, Gibbs and Briggs gave him a double punch, one on the face and one on the stomach. Ziva kicked him. They would've done more damage, but their jobs got in the way. If Gibbs wasn't an NCIS agent, he would've pulled the gun on him and shot him on the head.

"You and your sick group won't have a chance of touching her," Gibbs told him. His eyes turned sharp and determined.

"Oh, really?" Eric said, now becoming interested.

"Really," Briggs answered just as serious.

"Let's see about that," Eric said with an amused tone before he chuckled. Briggs left to call a guard to take him away. They knew nothing else would come out of him except for injuries on the suspect that could cause trouble for the NCIS team.

The case finally closed with Aaron being free, but Briggs and Gibbs became unsettled. The way Eric became so confident made them become more serious and protective of Abby as ever. For now, they planned to take Abby's family to Briggs' home for safety.

Meanwhile, Abby met up with Aaron. An awkward silence filled the room between them. Abby, of course, did as she promised when Aaron met up with her. She gave Aaron the most dangerous Abby hug that he would ever receive. Aaron became quite surprised, but he started losing air in his lungs.

"C- can't b-breathe," he said coarsely.

"That's what you get for scaring mom and me!" Abby told him before letting him go.

"I wanted to say… thanks. For, you know, helping me out," he told her, feeling more awkward than ever. And for some reason, he had some fascination for his shoes.

"Of course! We're family, you know," she told him in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Yeah, family," he whispered, his expression seemingly unhappy.

"We are," Abby replied firmly.

"I still have a grudge on you for making me bald," he told her, changing the subject. His words were said without aggression like it used to. Abby noticed it as well and smiled.

"Well, that's for making fun of our parents for being deaf," she reminded him, justifying her actions.

"I guess I did deserve it. But because of what you did, my hair won't grow back," he said with a glare, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, I kind of added a little something in it, but I was too young to know what I did. I thought it was only going to be temporary," Abby replied, defending her side. In a way, they were back to arguing with each other. Except this time, it was less hostile.

"This is the first time I feel like we're family," Aaron said after their sibling fight. "Different from what we had back then. I just…"

"I know, Aaron. I know," Abby told him before he could finish. "We're a family, Aaron. Don't ever forget that."

Aaron gave a small smile and nodded before he said, "Let's go. Your friend, Briggs, wanted to speak to you. I heard mom and my daughter are here."

"Really?" Abby asked in surprise. He nodded before they left to walk together.

Midway of meeting with the group, Aaron spoke up.

"Oh yeah, Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"Her name is Lisa," Aaron told her. Abby's eyes gleamed.

"Cute name," Abby replied, knowing he was talking about his daughter. "Took you a while for telling me."

"What can I say? Grudges blind people," Aaron told her. Abby looked over at him for a moment then held out her hand for him to take. Aaron looked at her oddly as Abby rolled her eyes in response.

"For all the times I never held your hand when we were little," Abby said to him.

"We're grown-ups now Abby. It's kind of embarrassing to hold your sister's hand when you're this old," Aaron told her. Abby shrugged her shoulders.

"It only becomes embarrassing if you think it that way."

"How about we just call it truce? I'm up for that."

Abby just chuckled and patted her brother's shoulder before hugging him again (lightly this time). Aaron winced, still not used to the hugs from his sister.

"Sure. Whatever floats your boat. And for once in our lives, mom would be especially happy we are getting along well," Abby said.

"Maybe a bit of fighting here and there. That's what brothers and sisters do, right?"

"Yep. We'll be one big happy family for once!" Abby said happily.

"You're too bubbly sometimes," Aaron told her. Abby looked over at him and pouted.

"There's nothing wrong with being excited. And also, I had a Caf-Pow when I was working on the case," Abby told him while poking his shoulder. Aaron rolled his eyes.

"I don't even know what a Caf-Pow is," Aaron said. Abby's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth open agape.

"You don't know what Caf-Pow is?" Abby yelled and then continued with, "It's like the most awesomest caffeine powered drink ever!"

"I take your word for it?" Aaron said, not wanting to overexcite her sister anymore than she already is.

"Good. You should try it sometime," Abby said energetically before she saw the two teams and their mother. "Oh, there's everyone."

Everyone saw the siblings chatting happily away. Gloria smiled at her children getting along well. She had always worried that those two would become distant. From the start, Gloria knew Aaron was unhappy with his life after everything he went through the years. This case made them closer, and it was a start to fixing the relationships for all three of them.

Aaron's eyes looked guiltily when he saw his mother.

"_I'm glad you're safe, Aaron. I was so worried_," Gloria signed.

"_Forgive me for all the years I've been cruel_," Aaron signed back.

"_Of course. You're my son, after all_," Gloria signed, tears falling down from her eyes before hugging her son.

Aaron felt emotions raging inside him. This is the first time he felt his mother's warmth, not that she never hugged him before. It was just that he decided to focus in all the bad things in life. The hatred stemmed from mostly being bullied from having deaf parents, having a weird sister, and having been bald because of Abby's prank. And because of that, he hated people who are abnormal to society so that he himself could feel normal.

Those thoughts became more distorted when he decided to join the group that had similar viewpoints as him. But unlike his group, he was only satisfied in calling people names, usually calling them "freaks". The others satisfied themselves in not only calling people names but using violence as they did so. It was the last straw to Aaron when Eric planned on killing the gay marine, so he confronted his group and told them that he would leave the group. They allowed him to do so without hurting him. And of course, Aaron had a conscious so he told the marine to run away before the group killed him. The marine scoffed him off that he was merely trying to scare him. Aaron left after the marine didn't listen to him.

And now, thinking back, Aaron should've persuaded him further. And maybe, Phillip Harts would still be able to live today. Aaron knew he would never forgive himself for that, and so he would bear that mistake on his shoulders.

"Daddy!" The little girl yelled as she ran to Aaron and holding onto his leg. Aaron smiled and picked up his five year old daughter.

"Baby girl, daddy wants to tell you something," Aaron told his daughter in his arms.

"Hm?" Lisa sounded before she tilted her head, now curious.

"Never be blinded by hatred," he told her. Everyone smiled until Abby slapped the back of Aaron's head, Gibbs style.

"Ouch," he uttered before Aaron looked over at her angrily. "What was that for?"

"She's too young to understand that," Abby told him with crossed arms.

"Is she my mommy?" Lisa asked curiously, pointing at Abby.

This shocked everyone. If anything, their expressions were quite humorous. Awkwardness certainly filled the air. There was nothing as strange as Abby's niece thinking she was her mother. That was totally disturbing in all ways, even if Lisa never knew Abby was her aunt.

"No, this is daddy's sister. She's Abby, your auntie," Aaron immediately explained.

"Auntie? Lisa's auntie?" Lisa asked. Aaron nodded. Lisa smiled as she held out her arms to Abby. "Auntie Abby!"

Abby smiled as she held Lisa in her arms. Lisa's eyes widened and her mouth agape as she was fascinated by Abby's twin ponytails.

This made Abby giggle. Briggs cleared his throat to have everyone's attention. Abby looked over at him.

"Abby, I need to speak to you privately," Briggs told her. Abby nodded before putting Lisa down, but Lisa clinged onto Abby's leg. This surprised Abby very much. She looked over at Aaron as he looked amused for a bit.

"Sorry, Abby. When Lisa clings onto someone, she'll stick to them for awhile," Aaron told her. This was something Abby never experienced before. She did get along with kids, but none of them clinged onto her like Lisa.

"Lisa, I've got to go. You need to let go," Abby told her. Lisa shook her head and she clinged onto Abby further.

Gibbs walked over to the little girl and looked over at her. The girl looked at him for a bit before Lisa hid behind Abby's leg. She thought he was scary to her.

"Mr. Grandpa is scary!" Lisa cried. This made everyone burst out laughing, even Abby laughed.

Gibbs smile turned back to a line.

"Wow, first time a child had turned down Gibbs, is that even possible?" Tony asked.

"And she called him Mr. Grandpa too," McGee said.

Gibbs turned and glared at them. And of course, both of them shut their mouths.

"Sweetie? Your auntie and I need to talk," Briggs told her sweetly.

"I'm not candy! And you're a scary grandpa too!" Lisa cried.

This was surely a different turn of events for everyone. As humorous as it is, Abby spoke to the girl, hoping she would let go.

"Lisa, I've got to speak to the old grandpa. After that, auntie Abby would come back. Is that okay with you?" Abby asked. Lisa thought for a bit before she turned her head to her daddy. He nodded before Lisa frowned and let go of her. Abby went down to her level and hugged the little girl.

"I'll be back. I promise," Abby told her.

"Pinky promise?" Lisa asked innocently before showing her pinky.

"Pinky promise." Abby then entwined her pinky with hers. Lisa smiled, and they both let go. Lisa then ran to her daddy and clinged onto his leg.

"Don't let Mr. Grandpa Number Two eat you!" Lisa yelled. This made everyone laugh.

After Briggs and Abby are alone, Briggs spoke up.

"Abby, for your safety and your family's, everyone will be staying at my house for a while," Briggs told her. "If you need anything, ask Moon to get it for you. And if it's something personal, ask Lily."

"Oh, is it because of Aaron?" Abby asked.

"Partly," he answered quite seriously. Abby was confused. But when he sounded like that, Abby knew not to ask.

"For how long?"

"Until I find it safe for your family. Maybe a few months or so," Briggs answered. His behavior suddenly turned into a lighter tone. "Oh, and I've got a surprise for both you and your mom when we get home. You and Gloria won't find out until we finish."

Abby was curious yet she was excited as well. Jumping up and down at the news of having a surprise, she started asking in her usual Abby-like manner.

"What kind of surprise? Will it make me scream with fear or squeal with joy? Since it's for mom, don't make it too scary. She doesn't like scary things. But then again, I don't think you'll give us a scary surprise. So is it a party? Will there be karaoke? Any rock music if we do? Are we bowling with nuns," Abby asked and continued to ask all sorts of questions. Briggs laughed and patted Abby's shoulder to calm her down. He gave her a warm smile before she stopped her ramblings.

"You'll know soon. It won't be much of a surprise if I told you. But I will give you this, it involves Gibbs as well," Briggs told her. Abby became more curious now.

"Gibbs? Like Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs? The one that Lisa called Mr. Grandpa? The man I called the silver-haired fox? The Bossman?" Abby asked, her eyes hopeful and a smile waiting to become wider. "That Gibbs?"

"Yes, that man you are oh-so-fond-of," Briggs said playfully. This made Abby blush like a high schooler.

"Briggs, it isn't funny when you tease me," Abby pouted.

"Oh, yes, it is," Briggs said with a smirk.

"And you're supposed to be the mature one," Abby asked. Briggs shrugged and then smirked.

"Never said I was," Briggs answered.

After their talk was finished and after Briggs was slapped in the back of the head by Abby, they left to meet with the others. Abby was quite giddy, wondering what the surprise may be. And if it includes Gibbs, it must be something really great.

Moon was to drive Abby and Gloria around before they were allowed to get to Briggs' house. It took an hour and thirty minutes before they were allowed to get to the house. Knowing they were there, two men opened the door for them. Abby didn't mind as much but Gloria, on the other hand, wasn't used to people opening doors for her unless they were in a fancy restaurant. And even then, Gloria would feel rather awkward. They both thanked the men and entered the mansion. Both women were awestruck but not in a good way.

The mansion was decorated fancily. It was as if they were really in some sort of fancy party. This was not Abby's ideal surprise. If anything, it would include karaoke, friends, and having a fun time. As for Gloria, it looked too fancy to her. She liked things simple.

When they walked further, the decorations shifted. There were balloons and every vibrant color that was shown like it was for a clown party. This disturbed Abby greatly. She wasn't too happy to see something like this. As for Gloria, she found herself almost blinded by all the brightness of the colors, especially the red. They walked faster and the decorations continued to shift. This time the decorations were of pink color. This freaked Abby out more. This was not a good surprise. At all! The pink continued to blind Gloria's eyes. They continued to walk on. Finally, though, the decorations seemed more simple. They were cream and white colors. Streams were handmade. There wasn't that much decorations in this room. Suddenly, Aaron and Briggs came out. Aaron wore a bear costume while Briggs wore a pirate suit. This made both Abby and Gloria laugh. If anything, this was the funniest surprise they had so far unlike the rooms they passed.

"Aye, this 'ere stop is fer Lady Gloria Sciuto," Briggs said in his pirate impersonation. He was actually good at it too. This furthered in the humor for Abby and Gloria. Briggs came over to Gloria and signed to her. Gloria chuckled and nodded before sitting down in the room with Briggs with her.

"Abby, yours is further down," Aaron told her. Aaron was clearly not happy with the costume.

"Why are you wearing a costume?" Abby asked.

Aaron sighed before answering, "Lisa wanted to see me in one after she saw all the costumes. She's waiting for me in the pink room. You must've seen her since you just passed it."

"She was? I didn't see her in there," Abby told him.

"What?" Aaron yelled. A few seconds later, Moon came inside the room carrying Lisa.

"She's looking for you, Mr. Bear," Moon said with a smirk before Lisa jumped off Moon's hold and ran to her hold onto Abby's leg.

"Baby girl, Abby needs to go see her surprise," Aaron said before holding out his arms to her.

"But..." Lisa said, using her puppy-eyed look.

"Then daddy has to take off his Mr. Bear suit," Aaron told her. Lisa's eyes widened and let go of Abby.

"No! I want Mr. Bear," Lisa cried. Aaron came over and swiftly picked her up in his bear arms.

"Let's go have fun in the pink room," Aaron told her. Lisa sniffled and nodded.

Soon after, they left the room. Abby turned to look over at Moon. She noticed Moon had a camera at hand. She then smirked.

"Taking pictures?" She asked him. Moon smirked back and nodded.

"Of course. I need to have a good laugh sometimes," he responded.

"Make copies, please?" Abby asked quite childishly. Moon nodded.

"Thanks!" Abby said cheerily before hugging him. Moon tensed a bit and his face started turning red. When Abby let go, Moon immediately turned away.

"Gonna go," Moon said before swiftly leaving. Abby just smiled at his shy nature when it comes to hugs. Teasing Moon once in a while was quite refreshing to Abby.

"Ay, you girlie. Go ter the next room," Briggs ordered, standing next to Abby out of nowhere. Abby laughed and nodded when she heard him speak.

"How did you know mom likes pirates?" Abby asked.

"That's a pirate's secret, argh," Briggs told her. Abby couldn't help but smile. "Yer booty is waitin' on the other side. Now, scram!"

Abby chuckled before she started to walk to the next room. All the while, she wondered where Gibbs is. Briggs did say he was part of the surprise, but he was nowhere to be seen. She then thought that Gibbs may have backed out, knowing that he would never be caught dead in any costume. With that thought, Abby frowned. She would love to see him in any costume. It didn't matter if he even wore that marine's outfit like he did for that undercover mission.

Not long after, she came into a dark covered room. Abby's eyes lit up and smiled at the black curtains and only the candles lit to light up the place. Abby noticed a figure's shadow and it started coming closer. Abby's eyes widened to see Gibbs, and he was in a costume!

"Gibbs! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! I can't believe you're wearing a costume!" Abby yelled. Abby became speechless when she saw what he wore. She didn't know what to say but just stared at him with her mouth wide open.

"Is it that bad?" Gibbs asked, not very happy at the least.

Crickets.

**A/N**: Hehehe, I know. I know. Gibbs wouldn't be caught dead wearing a costume. But hey, who knows? And yeah, I'm still thinking about what costume he should wear. Haven't thought that out yet. Maybe funny. Maybe handsome. Maybe colorful. Maybe dark. Who knows? Of course, there would be no Gibbs' wearing a dress involved. *cough* Hopefully. *cough* That would be just going overboard.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**: I forgot to mention on the last chapter that I changed the rating to M because of the violence for chapter eight (the suspect describing on how to torture Abby) and may be in a future chapter as well. If it is unnecessary and the rating should go back to T, tell me because I don't know how much of a minor violence they meant. Also, I **might** change this chapter.

Chapter Nine

She couldn't speak. She could only stare. Her breathing had ceased, not knowing she was holding it in. Gibbs wore a costume. But not any kind of costume, it was Erik (otherwise known as the Phantom) from the Phantom of the Opera. Not to mention, he looked damn hot in it. Tuxedo and Gibbs does mix, whoever says otherwise will feel Abby's wrath of death without leaving any evidence. He had a black rose in hand and gave it to her. Abby could feel herself blushing. She was quite thankful the room was dark or else she would've run away from the scene.

"I thought you weren't into those sort of things," Abby asked, amazed. She took the rose and took in its scent, relaxing her.

"I'm not."

"Then, why?"

"Not going to answer that, Abbs," he told her with an aggravated sigh. "So, how do I look? You never answered. I'm thinking this looks weird on me, right?"

Abbs shook her head immediately and said, "You look great! It's just that… I can't believe you'd wear a costume and not to mention the Phantom!"

Gibbs sighed once more and nodded. "Have you eaten yet? I'll be your waiter and dining partner for today."

"W-what?" Abby yelled with surprise and concern written on her face. "Are you feeling well, Gibbs?"

"I'm fine, Abbs," he told her.

"B- but… Gibbs would never do these things. Well, not the Gibbs I know," Abby told him.

"If you don't like it, I'll be glad to change into my normal clothes."

Abby shook her head immediately and took his arm.

"Nuh-uh, not gonna happen Gibbs. These are one of those rare times that I see Gibbs unGibbs-like in a good way," Abby told him with a giddy smile on her face.

"Not sure why you are so excited about, Abbs," Gibbs said with a groan. "This damn thing is uncomfortable."

"Really?" Abby said, giving him a mischievous smirk. "You look rather sexy in it."

"Flirting?" Gibbs asked with a smirk on his face.

"Nah, Abby likes to give compliments," Abby told him before chuckling.

Gibbs rolled his eyes before he sat Abby down.

"Now, what would the lady like to eat?" Gibbs asked before massaging her shoulders.

"_You, Gibbs_," Abby thought, knowing better not to say it out loud.

"What's the special?" Abby said, seductively.

"You," Gibbs said jokingly. This made Abby feel queasy in a good way. "But in all serious, I don't know. I'll go ask."

He was about to leave, but Abby caught him by his cape. Gibbs looked over at her with confusion written on his face.

"Not hungry?" He asked. Abby shook her head in reply.

"Gibbs, I'm really happy that you are doing this for me. It really means a lot," Abby confessed.

"I know that's why I'm doing this," Gibbs said truthfully. "And if you let me go, I can get some food for us. I'm starving from waiting for you."

"Was this Briggs' idea?" Abby asked before letting go of his cape. Gibbs shrugged.

"Would I ever do something like this?" Gibbs asked before leaving.

Of course, Abby knew the answer right away.

"Briggs, I owe you one," Abby mumbled under her breath, a dreamy sigh escaping her lips.

It took about a few minutes before Gibbs came back. And for some reason, he wanted to sneak behind her. He hadn't done that for a long while now and hoped to see her reaction. It never gets boring when she yells his name and telling him he almost gave her a heart attack. He crept very slow and silently like that of a hunter getting its prey. It was then his face was right next to her face but not close enough for her to kiss him accidentally when she turns her head to see him.

Abby started feeling a presence beside her. She slowly turns her head to the left to see Gibbs, and she reacted by flinching a bit. And of course, she was never used to Gibbs sneaking up on her.

"Gibbs! You almost gave me a heart attack... again!" Abby said with a pout. Gibbs gave her a playful shrug.

"What can I say, I'm a man of few words," Gibbs told her with his usual playful smirk. "The chef's special is…"

"Spaghetti Aglio e Olio," Briggs came with two dishes on a tray.

"Ooh, yum," Abby commented when she saw the food.

Gibbs looked over at him questioningly. He was supposed to be taking the food to the table not Briggs.

Abby thought of that too before she said, "I thought Gibbs was taking the food."

"Naw, the great Cap'n Briggs likes ter pop in sometimes," Briggs answered. "Today's dessert is chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream on top."

Briggs winked over at Abby before setting the plate in front of her and one on the right side of the empty chair.

He then leaned over to her ear and whispered, "Like what yer see?"

Abby instantly blushed before she slapped Briggs lightly and gave him a glare. Briggs just smirked at her reaction. She couldn't believe how teasing Briggs could be. And after this, she took note that Briggs is definitely dangerous when it comes to teasing.

Gibbs watched them with a serious expression. He wondered what Briggs said that made Abby blush. In all, he was obviously jealous. Sadly, he doesn't know that.

Not long after, Briggs left which now contained only Abby and Gibbs.

They both sat down with Gibbs sitting on the left of her before they started eating the fancy food in front of them. Gibbs took off the mask and cape, which made him look like a guy wearing a tuxedo.

Abby stared at him. She obviously thought he is sexy wearing the Phantom of the Opera costume but found him rather handsome in just the tuxedo. In all, she started to dream about the man next to her. Gibbs noticed her stare and gave a mischievous smirk at her.

"Do I look that great?" He asked her. Abby finally snapped out of her dream and blushed.

"Well, you are my silver-haired fox. You look great in anything or maybe nothing, if you know what I mean," Abby told him boldly without thinking. Gibbs eyes widened before he coughed.

"That was… interesting," Gibbs said before pouring wine in the glasses for both of them.

"What? It's true though. It's nothing to be shy about Gibbs," Abby told him with a bright smile. Gibbs stared at her.

"Too far, Abbs," he told her before drinking the red wine.

Abby frowned before eating her food again. Silence filled the air. Gibbs knew how Abby felt for him, but he didn't feel the same way. Sometimes, he had to remind her that she and he can never be together. He was about to tell her just that, but a little girl suddenly interrupted them.

"Auntie Abby! Auntie Abby!" Little Lisa yelled before running towards her room but stopped at the moment of how the dark room is. "Scary! Too scary!"

Lisa started crying as Abby hurried to her. She picked her up and smiled.

"What's wrong, Lisa?" Abby asked with a comforting voice.

"I lost Mr. Bear!" She yelled before she started sniffling.

"Ah, it'll be okay. I'll find Mr. Bear for you," Abby told her. Lisa immediately shook her head.

"I wanna stay with Auntie Abby," Lisa told her while holding her tightly around the neck.

Abby then looked over at Gibbs for permission. He gave her a curt nod before Abby smiled and sat on her chair while Lisa let go of her and looked over at Gibbs. Abby started to finish off her spaghetti but was stopped by Lisa jumping off of her.

"What is it, Lisa?" Abby asked worriedly. Lisa didn't answer before she walked up to Gibbs and just stared at him with her big blue-green eyes.

"Is Auntie Abby in love with Mr. Grandpa?" Lisa asked before she turned to look at Abby. "And is Auntie Abby going to marry to Mr. Grandpa?"

Abby became completely shocked and so did Gibbs. Abby wonders sometimes if children can see through people like they say. Lisa looked over at them with a puzzled look when nobody answered and when she saw their expressions.

"If Auntie Abby and Mr. Grandpa can like each other, why can't Auntie Abby get married to Daddy?" Lisa asked.

Another shock erupted inside Abby and Gibbs. And to their relief, Mr. Bear came back and took Lisa away. Lisa happily obliged. It was only Abby and Gibbs again. Things were getting more awkward than necessary. And of course, Abby spoke up to rid all of the awkwardness filling the air.

"So where're Tony, McGee, Ducky, Palmer and Ziva?" Abby asked, just realizing they weren't around.

"They are in a different room with Briggs' agents," Gibbs answered.

"Oh…" She said before starting to eat again. It was one of those rare times that Abby wasn't speaking as much. Gibbs looked over at Abby. He disliked what he was going to say, but he couldn't let it stay like this.

"Abby…" He started. Abby looked up at him. "You and I… we can't be. You know how I feel about Shannon and Kelly. I just can't- can't give up on them. I don't want to hurt you even further by saying nothing."

Abby put down her utensils and looked over at Gibbs.

"So you knew how I felt about you?" Abby asked.

Gibbs sighed and nodded before saying, "Yes."

"Gibbs, I know you don't see me that way, but it doesn't mean that I can't stop liking you, not until you found a wife that you wouldn't let go of like Shannon," Abby told him. Her eyes held determination yet she was still hurt all the same from what Gibbs had said.

"Abbs…" Gibbs started, his voice becoming softer.

"No matter what you say, Gibbs, I won't let go. I'm much stronger than you think. After staying here, I found myself thinking and I know what I want and what I should and need to do. I will be the woman that will stay by your side when you have no one else. I'm not going to let you wither away without someone there with you," Abby said. This surprised Gibbs greatly. He just didn't understand what she saw in him, but he thought that time will lessen her liking of him.

"Abbs, for now, I will not stop you, but I hope you understand this doesn't mean I will return your feelings," Gibbs told her. Abby just smiled even though pain was obviously on her face. She wouldn't cry like she did with all her other ex-boyfriends. Gibbs was different and she wouldn't let him become like the rest.

"Like it no other way, Gibbs. Well, not the "won't return the feelings" part though," Abby said before she started to take a sip of wine.

"Beer?" Gibbs asked. Abby smiled and nodded.

"Would love that, Gibbs," Abby said.

Gibbs left; and soon after, Abby held her face in her hands, trying not to cry. Abby knew the pain of rejection, yet this one was rather the most painful of them all.

Meanwhile, Gibbs started towards the kitchen but was stopped by Moon. Gibbs looked over at him with a frustrated manner. Moon had his usual serious expression on his face.

"Where are you going," asked Moon.

"Getting beer," Gibbs answered and was about to continue on his way. Moon stopped him after he took a step.

"Gibbs, I want to know one thing."

"What?" Gibbs answered in an aggravated tone.

"Are you in love with Abby?"

Gibbs eyed him. He wondered who else thought he was in love with her. He had a hint that Briggs may think he must be in love with her too. Gibbs gave out a frustrated sigh before glaring at the young man in front of him.

"I only think of her as a very important friend. It's one of those complicated relationships that can't be described in words," Gibbs told him. Moon smirked as if happy to hear that answer.

_"I see. Then, there's still a chance I can be together with her. And maybe, she will stay here instead of going back to D.C.,"_ Moon thought. He could feel his stomach doing somersaults from being happy at the news.

All the while, Briggs accidentally heard the conversation while he was about to go to the kitchen. His hand started to clench into a fist. This wasn't the answer he expected from Gibbs. Sighing, Briggs knew that Abby would definitely be hurt. Briggs' plan to get Gibbs together with Abby had to change. He wondered what he had to do for Abby's future happiness. Should he try to get Gibbs together with Abby or will he help Abby in finding another man suitable for her? Briggs shook his head at the migrane he would develop thinking about Abby's welfare. This matchmaking thing was something Briggs was never a pro at, but he is a pro of being sly when he needs to be.

Briggs smiled and soon started his way to the kitchen as if he didn't hear anything at all and greeted the two men when he saw them.

"Argh, what are the both of ya doin' here?" Briggs asked.

"Asking a small question towards Agent Gibbs," Moon answered. Briggs eyebrow raised in a questioning manner.

"And what is yer question?" Briggs asked.

"Nothing," Moon said, his face had a faint blush on his face.

"Hm... and you?" Briggs asked towards Gibbs.

Gibbs pointed at the direction of the kitchen and said, "Beer."

"Aye, me see, mateys! I am checkin' up on dessert, argh," Briggs answered.

After they made a small exchange, Gibbs and Briggs made their way to the kitchen. Gibbs got his two beer bottles and Briggs carried the dessert for Gloria, Abby, Gibbs, and him on a tray. They made their way back while Briggs started to strike up a conversation.

"Argh, me matey, how is the night goin' for yer?" Briggs asked.

"Were you matchmaking me with Abby?" Gibbs asked which Briggs replied with a smirk.

"Aye, and what have yer?"

"Why?"

"That... is a pirate's secret, argh," Briggs said before he entered the room with Abby in it. He placed two plates of the dessert. Briggs looked over at Abby. He noticed Abby's depressed look but pretended not to see it and left right away. He sighed and shook his head before meeting up with Gloria again.

Gibbs placed a beer bottle next to her empty plate of spaghetti. He soon sat down and looked over at Abby. He noticed her looking depressed. He ignored it, but Abby knew he must've seen her depressed. She could see the slightly worried look he gave her.

"I'm fine, Gibbs," she said before she opened the beer bottle. "Just emotional, really. Rejection does hurt, you know."

"Abbs..." Gibbs started but Abby stopped him.

"I know what you are going to say, Gibbs, but don't even think about it. I told you. I won't stop loving you until you find a woman that you can stay without being divorced," Abby told him before drinking the beer. She felt the comfort from the tingles it gives.

Gibbs stayed quiet and drank his beer. Abby started to take a fork and pierced the chocolate cake in front of her. Chocolate syrup started to ooze out of the cake. She then took a bite of it and a sweet smile returned to her lips. Gibbs saw this and smiled. He began to eat the dessert himself even though he wasn't much into sweets. The ice cream though fits perfectly with the molten cake's chocolate syrup.

"Abbs, after this, we're going to have karaoke and some dancing after this," Gibbs told her. Abby looked over at him and a sparkle emitted in her eyes.

"Really?" She asked excitedly. Gibbs smirked and nodded. "That's great!"

"It will start around nine."

"Cool. Now I can have some fun. I know Briggs would have something up his sleeve. He always does," Abby said happily. "He knows what I like the most. Always cheering me up when I feel down and always gave me gifts that will just make me feel special. Whenever he's around, he just makes me feel safe and happy."

Gibbs felt a surge of jealousy suddenly for some reason.

"Just like you, Gibbs," she added happily. The sudden urge of jealousy in him disappeared instantly. A small smile was graced upon his lips.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Abbs. What relationship do you have with him? Is he like a replacement of me? Who is he really?" Gibbs finally asked.

Abby looked over at him for a moment and gave a sigh. She frowned at him when he would ask her if he was his replacement.

"I love you, Gibbs and nobody will ever replace you in my heart. You know that. I will never try to keep a secret from you either, but I can't tell you our relationship. I have to keep it mum for him," Abby told him. "As much as I want to tell you, I can't. You have to figure it out yourself. This is a Briggs' secret, but someone you know knows about it. That's the only hint I can give you, Gibbs. I'm sorry."

"Why must it be a secret if someone already knows? Why can't you just tell me?" Gibbs told her seriously. Abby frowned, looking over at the door before looking back at him.

"Rule number four, Gibbs," Abby told him.

"Abbs," Gibbs warned. Abby shook her head.

"Mums the word, Gibbs. I promised him. Unless you have the right hints, I can't tell you anything. Just like you, I'll keep a secret for him," Abby said even though it didn't take much effort when she told Ducky and Palmer.

"You do know I will be able to find out if I had the team look into it, right?" Gibbs told her as Abby gave him a smirk.

"Sorry, Gibbs. You won't find anything even if you try," Abby told him confidently. Gibbs eyed her for a moment before he gave a sigh of defeat. Something he is never used to.

"I take your word for it, but I'll find out sooner or later," Gibbs said just as confidently. Abby chuckled and hugged her favorite man from behind.

"You won't be Gibbs if you didn't," Abby said. Gibbs looked over at her for a moment before he patted her head.

"You know I can't kiss you on your cheek like I've always done before. There will be changes between us, Abbs. I can't make you think anymore of us," he said. Abby's cheerful attitude left her while slowly letting go of Gibbs.

"No kisses?" Abby asked quietly, sadness showing on her face.

Gibbs sighed but nodded, "No hugs either. I'm sorry, Abbs, but it's the only way."

"That's like torture, Gibbs!" Abby yelled. "Just because I like you and I want you to be happier?"

"Abbs..." Gibbs started.

"No, Gibbs. Just... just go back to D.C. if you are going to treat me that way."

"Abbs..."

"Don't call me Abbs either," Abby told him before she ran from the room. Tears started falling this time. Briggs saw this and caught her by the arm, a look of concern on his face.

"What's wrong, Abbs?" Abby looked over at him and held him in a tight hug while crying on his pirate costume.

"Briggs, I don't want to go back to D.C. anymore," Abby told him. Briggs eyes widened before he held her comfortingly.

"You don't mean that, Abbs. I know you love it there," Briggs told her. Abby shook her head rapidly. "Is it because of Gibbs?"

Abby's hold on him tightened, giving a quick answer to Briggs.

"I- I love him, and it hurts," Abby told him while sniffling.

"Then... I'll help you bandage the pain," Briggs told her. His eyes became more serious with a hint of a determination.

"How?"

"Abbs, this isn't the first time you've known me," Briggs told her, showing her a warm smile. "When we start karaoke, I want you to sing your heart out."

"Thanks, Briggs."

"Anytime, Abbs. Anytime."

"Abbs." Gibbs called out when he saw her with Briggs.

Abbs hid behind Briggs, not wanting him to see her cry. Briggs faced him with a rather serious look.

"Gibbs, she already has me. There's no more reason for you to come close to her anymore. If you want her to forget about her feelings for you, then don't come near her."

"B- Briggs!" Abby yelled, her eyes widening of what he just said. Briggs raised his hand to gesture her to be quiet and then looked over at her.

"When you cry, I will make sure anyone or anything that makes you cry will never do that to you again. Even if you hate me for it," He told her before he faced Gibbs again. "Oh, and Gibbs, she's no longer yours. You forget that you aren't the only team that Abby can be comfortable with. And who knows, she might never come back to D.C. because of your mistake."

Gibbs was speechless but he then reverted back to being Gibbs.

"You aren't taking Abby away from me," Gibbs told him. Briggs just chuckled and shook his head in response as if what Gibbs said was funny. But seconds later, Briggs glared at him with a serious look once again.

"Watch. Me." Briggs declared, mouthing it clearly to him.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: Sorry for the late updates. I am quite busy with things and never really had the chance to work on any of my stories. Luckily, I did an all nighter for this one. Yeah, this one is quite overdramatic I know. Oh yeah, I was listening to a song called "All Out of Love" by John Barrowman. Maybe the overdramatic chapter was influenced by the song, but I do hope you like this chapter. If you don't, I understand. I guess my ideas are a bit out there.

Chapter Ten

After Briggs and Gibbs declared a challenge to each other, Abby was now stuck in the middle. Obviously, the tension between the two bosses increased but they didn't do anything that night because of Abby. As much as she was fond of the two, this was one of those times Abby is greatly unhappy with them, enough to give the two a cold shoulder the whole night.

The karaoke helped quite a lot because Abby did quite a bit of head banging while the instrumental played. And like Briggs told her, she clearly sang her heart out. The teams clearly saw something wrong with her, well, not maybe Palmer. Palmer was quite amazed at Abby's singing and head banging skills. The day ended better than some might expect although the team members confronted her about her unusual behavior. And all she said was, "I had a terrible... break-up." The two teams and Ducky questioned her response, but took it as it is. The way they saw it, it may be something she didn't want to tell at the time.

Surprisingly, this party was supposed to be for the Scuitos getting together. As sly as Briggs is, the purpose of the party was made at the last minute. But behind it all, Briggs wanted to make his family happy and enjoy their time as well as everyone else. After all, Briggs was never a party person unless the situation needs it the most. And that night, Abby needed it the most after Gibbs rejected her and the declaration of challenge between him and Gibbs.

The next day's work was mostly paperwork for both teams. Abby, on the other hand, was busy giving her babies a check-up. All the while, it made her busy from thinking about Gibbs. When the door to her lab was opened to reveal Briggs, she continued to give him the cold shoulder. Briggs knew Abby would ignore him but didn't mind it at all. He set her Caf-Pow down and kissed her on the head before he told her that he was sorry, but he would not take back the challenge against Gibbs. Abby turned to him and held his arm.

"I know you are doing this for me, but I'm a big girl now, Briggs. Please let me handle my own affairs," Abby told him pleadingly. Briggs gave her a caring look before he sighed.

"Abbs, you've known me for years and trusted my actions, so trust me in this as well. You deserve a happy ending, and it cannot be with _that_ Gibbs," Briggs said before he turned and strides off out of Abby's lab quickly, not giving her a chance to speak.

It was only Briggs and Gibbs in the hallway of the NCIS building when Gibbs was about to get his coffee while Briggs held a candy bar in his hand. The two stopped their tracks when they saw (more like glare) each other. They didn't forget the challenge they gave each other about Abby. And since Abby was nowhere in sight, it was a great time they _spoke_ to each other.

"I heard you do woodworking, mostly boats, Gibbs," Briggs said coolly. Gibbs stayed quiet while observing him like he is a suspect. Briggs noticed this as he silently chuckled.

"I have a hobby, myself. Gardening. Quite feminine, yes, but there's quite a story to mine. Just like you and your boats," Briggs told him.

"Did Abbs tell you?" Gibbs asked him, his voice rough and unhappy.

"Unlike most people, I memorize most of what she says. Being around her for long periods of time can do that to a person. Most of them pertain to you but not this. She never tells about something that is too personal to a person. Although, I did get some information from a secret source," Briggs told him. He then sighs before he circled around Gibbs. "In the times I've known her, she has never spoken with such high admiration towards someone before. It was as if you are the motor to her boat."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gibbs asked, straight to the point.

"Things will change, Gibbs, and I'll make sure of it." Briggs stopped near Gibbs so that their profiles are next to each other, facing the opposite of each other before he whispered," And by that time, she'll no longer be part of your special team but mine."

"Abby will come back to D.C. when she finishes here," Gibbs said confidently. "And she will be the same person when she comes back. Everything will go back to normal."

"Ah, you think too highly of yourself, Gibbs," Briggs said before he smirked. "She doesn't need another protective figure when she already has me. And well, when you leave to go back to D.C., you'll find that you won't be as special to her when she returns. I will always be her number one man now. And you, you'll be just be a friend. Unlike your teammates, you won't have a role in her life like you used to. Your special spot is gone, and you've got yourself to blame."

This triggered Gibbs. He took Briggs by the collar and pushed him against the wall, his eyes glaring at him. Briggs didn't try to do anything but smirk.

"Jealousy isn't your style, is it Gibbs?" Briggs asked with his unwavering smirk. "How does it feel to be hurt?"

"I never liked you," Gibbs told him, his hold on him becoming tighter. "What are you planning? Why are you always with Abbs?"

"Planning? I planned to give Abby the happiness she deserves. You want to know what relationship I have with Abby? You find out yourself, Special Agent Gibbs," Briggs retorted, his smirk immediately turned into a serious one. "She doesn't need a man that replaces his wife with three others just because he is still in love with his wife and hopes to find closure that way."

Gibbs became surprised but soon pushed Briggs harder against the wall. He growled at him, angry that Briggs looked up into his past. Briggs may be rich, but how did he get so much information on him?

"You've been looking me up? Why?" Gibbs angrily questioned.

"To find out what kind of person has Abby's love and affection. And truthfully, he isn't man enough to face his own feelings, whether it was intentional or not," Briggs told him out of spite. "If you want Abby to be happy, stop lying to yourself."

"What are you saying, you bastard!" Gibbs pushed him again, which Briggs didn't even care. "That I have feelings for Abby? I don't see Abby in that way. I see her as…"

"As a daughter? Heh, those are always overused excuses," Briggs told him before he took Gibbs collar and pushed him with his own strength and then turned him so that Gibbs was now against the wall. "You don't deserve Abbs if you keep lying to yourself even if you think your mind is telling you that, but you know damn well that your heart says the opposite."

"What makes you think you know me?" Gibbs' eyes ever glaring with venom in his voice before he punched Briggs hard on the face.

The impact was great enough that Briggs hit the ground. Briggs wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth before he too punched Gibbs but on the stomach instead. Gibbs punched him again and the fight started between the two. Fortunately, Abby saw them and stopped the fight.

"What are you two doing? Stop it!" Abby yelled, horror written on her face as she saw the two beatened faces.

"This is a man's fight, Abbs. We need to resolve this through punches," Briggs said.

"No! I will not let my two favorite people fighting like this. Why are guys attacking each other anyways?" Abby said but then realization hit her and her eyes widened in horror. "Is it because of me?"

Briggs and Gibbs saw her hurt expression and they both started feeling guilty.

"No, not at all, Abbs," Briggs told her to comfort her. Abby shook her head.

"It's a lie. I know it's a lie. Is it because of what I said yesterday? Is it that bad for me to love a man?" Abby asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Abbs..." Gibbs started but Abby shook her head.

"I get it! So just stop! I don't want the two of you to fight because of me. Are you happy now, Gibbs? Not only did you crush my heart but to make me forget about you by doing this?" Abby asked as she pointed at the two injured men before her. "And as for you, Briggs, I know you are concerned about my well-being, but this totally ticks me off too. Why is it that anyone I am in love with hurts me in the end?" Tears now streamed down her face before she left to go weep back in her lab.

"Abbs!" Both of them yelled. Both of the men's hand were clenched at the guilt of making Abby cry like that.

"You've got what you want, Gibbs," Briggs said coldly. "Don't regret it."

Gibbs looked over at him.

"What? So you planned all of this? To what? To make her cry like that?" Gibbs said, his voice raised in anger. Briggs gave a cold look at him.

"To help her end the pain of rejection faster. It was the only way for her to give up on someone as hopeless as you," Briggs said before he left. Now, only Gibbs was left alone to think for himself.

He decided to drive around in New Orleans, not ready to see anyone just yet. He could see that New Orleans was still rebuilding from the hurricanes that came towards this place. He felt like he was in the aftermath of a sudden hurricane as well. The pit of his stomach when he saw Abby so... hurt like that killed him. He was the cause of it, yet he didn't want to hurt her any further if she was in too deep with him. He knew how it felt and he didn't want Abby to endure it as he did when he lost the two loves of his life. Tears started to form in his eyes as he thought back towards them. He didn't let those tears fall though, trying to be strong like he is as the Bossman of his team. He stopped at someplace vacant. He just sat in his car as his memories played in his mind of his wife, Shannon and daughter, Kelly. He remembered times when his wife and daughter saved his life from entering the light of death. If it weren't for them, he would've been long gone.

Suddenly, Abby entered his mind. The moments he spent with the princess of darkness (even though she was more light than dark to him) gave him another reason to live. She may have been the only cheery person he would ever accept in his life. He didn't care if she rambled on and on when she gets worried or hyped up. He didn't care how emotional she gets at times. He didn't care if she is the total opposite of him. All he knew is that her presence is necessary to him. He didn't want to lose Abby too. She was much more important than his other three ex-wives and lovers. And yes, maybe even more than Jennifer Sheppard and Hollis Mann.

The pained look on Abby's face from before flashed before him. He didn't know what would happen between Abby and him. He could handle her ignoring him for a few hours or maybe for a day at most. Any longer than a day, he would have to confront her. He could handle his ex-wives and lovers ignoring him, but Abby is different. She was lovable young woman. He knew that. He did care for her more ways than one. He couldn't place his relationship with Abby in words. There was a complexity in their relationship. He just didn't know what to describe it.

Ever since he punished her to come here, he became more frustrated. Never once did he thought that Abby would hit it off with the team here. He never thought that her and Briggs knew each other. When he saw how Briggs embraced and kissed her the same way he would do to Abby, he just didn't like it. There was something about Briggs that just irritates him. He knew Briggs wasn't some boyfriend or lover of Abby's, and he has a small clue that Briggs may be related to Abby. Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough evidence to back it up and only has his gut feeling telling him that. And he knew, his gut is almost always right. Even though he is related to Abby, he still doesn't like the guy. The way Abby looks and greets Briggs pisses Gibbs off. And for some reason, she seems to speak with Briggs more often than with him even though he wasn't much of a talker. It clicked to Gibbs that he was jealous, but he wouldn't admit it out loud. What concerned him the most was why? Was he envious that Abby may be more closer to Briggs than he was? And if so, how come he didn't feel that way with anybody else she was with? He wanted answers and he needed to find out.

Meanwhile, Briggs took Abby home to his mansion. When Abby got inside the mansion, she went straight to her room and locked it. Her back was against the door as she slid down with tears falling from her eyes once more. It was noticeable that her eyes became red and puffy from crying too much. Just because her liking of Gibbs was one-sided, the two most important people in her life became enemies with each other because of it. She wonders if she is cursed to not have a stable love life. Even though Tim was the right choice for one, she didn't feel the closure or the love she needed from him. Only one person gave such a feeling and that was Gibbs of all people. He was someone she always wanted even though it took her a long while to realize it. It wasn't just safety and warmth he gave, it was the tingling feeling emitting from inside her whenever she sees him or whenever she hears his voice. There were instances where his hugs or kisses made her relax from all the work she had to endure. The Caf-Pows he personally gave her made her work harder and show him her full potential as a forensic scientist.

Now, even those memories hurt. The tingling feeling replaced by a hundred needles prinkling inside her. His voice and face didn't give her the comfort she needed like before. She was fully drowned with pain. She wanted relief, anything to take the pain away. She gave up everything for a chance to be with Gibbs in a different way. And now, it hurts her even more. She wanted to be his significant other. She wanted to have what Gibbs and Shannon had. The devotion he had for Shannon made her envious of the woman, but she couldn't blame her. Something about her made Abby like her as well. What was it? She didn't have an answer. Abby had felt devotion once, but Mikel was dangerous. And in Mikel's term of devotion, it meant stalking, and Abby didn't want to endure that again. All Abby wanted was the kind of safety, warmth, affection, and devotion only Gibbs could give. All of it had been shattered by the man himself. A dream is, afterall, a dream. A fantasy that could only come true in her mind. And admittedly, there is only one wife in his life and that would only be given to Shannon and no one else.

Break-ups are easy to get over with as Abby had endured it before, but the one-sided love for Gibbs is a different thing. The pain of it never starting was the worst feeling she felt in her love life as of yet. At least with her break-ups with her boyfriends, Gibbs would comfort her. But who will she find comfort this time after Gibbs was the one hurting her?

She silently walked over to the bed, laid on it and looked up at the ceiling. Memories of her and Gibbs slowly played in her mind again. A few tears started falling from her eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. She wished she didn't fall in love with him. It was too much. She wanted to go back to having a carefree relationship with Gibbs. It was by that thought she decided to try to go back to that time, before she ever found her feelings for him. But she didn't know where to start.

Her cell phone started to ring as she looked over at it.

_Gibbs_

"What do you want?" Abby asked roughly.

"I want to talk to you. Open the door," Gibbs told her through the phone. Abby looked over at the door. Her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't fully ready to face Gibbs, but she put on a brave face anyways. She wiped away the remaining tears on her face before she got up and opened the door to see him standing there.

Gibbs was completely caught off guard when he saw her. Abby never glared at him like that before. He could see she was fiercely angry at him. Yes, a broken heart can make a person angry, but he wasn't used to that anger aimed at him by her. She did it once before but this was different. It felt like she despised him.

"Abbs," he started but Abby frowned at the nickname. He sighed before he said, "Abby, you know I didn't mean to hurt you."

Abby's hand clenched into a fist. What she was going to say next would hurt both of them, but it was the only way for her to get back to the relationship she had with him before.

"I know you didn't mean it, Gibbs. I know... so go back. Go back to D.C.," Abby said, her voice softening as she said this.

"We still..." he started. Abby looked up at him pleadingly, tears starting to form again. She hated it. She didn't want to show him her tears. She wanted to be tough, but she couldn't in this state.

"Gibbs, you've done enough damage. Just leave. I'll see you back in D.C. after I finish here," she told him coldly before she went back to her room and closed the door behind her. Tears streaming down her eyes once again.

"Someone, please. Please take this pain away," she whispered before she fell to her knees and burying her face in her hands before weeping silently.

Gibbs stood there. He felt a piercing pain stabbing at his heart, absently putting his hand on his chest. He held in his breath, not knowing that her cold attitude could hurt him in more ways than he ever thought she would. All he did now was stare at the door to her room, afraid that if he left she would no longer be his Abby.

_"Mine?" _Gibbs thought. His eyes widened at his realization.

"When did I...?" He mumbled.

All of a sudden, Gibbs got punched on the face making him fall on the ground. He looked up to see Moon, who seemed quite angry. He pulled Gibbs up by his shirt and pushed him against the wall.

"You..." Moon started, his eyes glaring at him. "You made her cry, didn't you!"

"Let go of him, Moon," Briggs ordered. Gibbs turned to see him as he was angry at Briggs.

"But..." Moon started.

"He wasn't the only one that caused Abby to become like this. I am to blame too," Briggs told him.

"What?" Moon yelled in shock.

"It was the only way for her to give up on liking Gibbs. If she stayed liking him as it is, she'll fall deeper into despair. Better to end it now before it is too late," Briggs explained.

"What?" Now, it was Tony yelling. "Is that why she was acting differently yesterday and today?"

The two teams including Ducky and Palmer were astonished to listen to the explanation. Tony knew beforehand that Abby liked Gibbs and thought that the two would work it out with time, but he never expected everything to end before it even started. Ducky knew as well, but experience told him to let the two handle it since meddling will only cause trouble. Although, he had to nudge here and there to help them out. He, too, was surprised that it ended with Abby hurting. Lily was also one of those people that knew what was going on. Like everyone else, she didn't expect this to happen. As for the others, they were clueless and just stood shocked at what they just heard. The two teams didn't expect this. They came to comfort Abby at whatever was making her act this way. And lo and behold, they found the reason in the most unexpecting way.

All of a sudden, a loud thump sounded in Abby's room. Ducky knocked on her door and asked her if she was okay. No sound. Tony pounded the door harder and yelling if she was okay. And again, no sound. Everyone became worried this time. Tony, Moon, and Gibbs looked at each other before they nodded, gesturing that they had to kick in the door. On the count of three, the three kicked the door hard. They rushed in and found her at her desk, playing a game on her laptop. She had earphones on and everyone sighed in relief that Abby was okay.

Abby felt someone was watching her, so she turned around, startled to see everyone in her room and her door broken. She took off her earphones and it was quite loud enough to drown any noise surrounding her.

"Abby!" Tony yelled before he held her in a tight hug. "I'm glad nothing happened to you."

She was once more startled, not knowing what was going on.

While Abby was crying in her room, she noticed her laptop. She thought she would relieve her anguish by playing action games, and it helped a lot. She also wanted to drown out the pain inside her by drowning out the noises with the game she was playing. Abby was afraid of the game being too loud for everyone, so she used earphones instead. Abby had no idea that it would cause her this much trouble.

"What are you guys doing here?" Abby asked. "And why did you kick into my room?"

"We know everything, Abby. Your feelings for Gibbs," Ziva said. Abby was surprised but then frowned again. The pain returned once again.

"What was that thumping noise we heard?" McGee asked. "We thought something happened to you."

"Thumping?" Abby said before thinking for a minute. "Oh! That. I was so into the game that I stood up and the chair just fell back and hit the ground."

This gave everyone a sigh of relief. Abby noticed that and gave a questioning look.

"Did you guys think I will hurt myself or something? Or maybe thought I would commit suicide?" Abby asked, a smile forming on her lips and then she chuckled. "I'm so glad that I have you guys. Yes, a broken heart hurts but I won't do that to everyone. I will never do that even if I have to suffer through the pain."

Even though a broken heart hurts more than anything, she wouldn't have done any of those things. Abby would never hurt her family and friends like that. She would rather be caught dead in another person's hand than to cause them the mental suffering if she hurt or killed herself with her own hands because of love. Abby wasn't a fool. She knew the consequences of suicide or cutting. She saw how families broke apart, blaming each other or themselves. Friends would think the same, wondering if they had done something then maybe their loved ones would still be alive or wouldn't hurt themselves in such a way. The guilt eating them up and they would always be scarred forever. Abby never ever want her family and friends to endure such suffering. They never deserved it.

"Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, do you want to go out and enjoy the parade?" Briggs asked her. Abby's eyes gleamed.

"Of course! Everyone should join!" Abby said happily, becoming her normal self again.

"But Abby, we've got to tell you one thing," Moon told her.

"Huh?" Abby asked confused. The two teams had a serious expression.

"We didn't mean to keep quiet but since we're going out, we have to tell you something important," Lily told her.

"And that is?" Abby started to become more concerned.

"You remember the case that involved your brother?" Phoenix asked. Abby nodded.

"Of course, how could I forget?" Abby said.

"The hate group may be targeting you. That's why I recommended that your whole family stays here," Briggs said.

Another big blow hits Abby.

"What else? Everything seems to go against me today, and I'm sick and tired of it! So just tell me everything I need to know before I blow up!" Abby yelled.

"I like you," Moon said suddenly. This shocked everyone greatly. The cold prince confessed to the preppy forensic scientist. Nobody (well, maybe a few people) saw that coming.

"What?" Abby said as well as some others.

"I said I like you. Be my girlfriend," Moon told her.

"What is this? Is this some sort of soap opera or something!" Abby said frustrated. She turned back to her laptop and then at them. "I want to play my games. Get out!"

Everyone left as Abby closed the broken door behind her. This was not her day. At all.

In the meantime, Moon looked over at everyone.

"Did I just get rejected?" Moon asked, more to himself.

Tony patted Moon's shoulder and so did McGee before they left. The girls giggled before they left as well. Briggs gave him a sympathetic smile and gave him comforting words and then strided off somewhere. Now, it was only Moon and Gibbs. Gibbs looked at Moon for a moment before he walked away and into his room.

Today wasn't a good day for Gibbs. At all.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**: Thanks for everyone reviewing and those who have read my story, even if they didn't like it. Thank you for giving this story a chance. I am very happy. Please continue on supporting me. I **think** there will be four more chapters to this story. I am actually surprised that I made such lengthy chapters, which is rather rare for me to do. Usually, I don't write this long because it's too time consuming. I'll be busy in these two weeks, so updates will be much, much slower. I apologize for that length of time. Oh, and I might update _Only be Her Reflection_ after I finish this story, but I may change my mind when I have the time to type up the chapter. I wanted to upload this the day before, so it would be right on time for Easter, but I guess it took longer than usual. Well, happy late Easter everyone! The chapter is a bit rushed, but I hope it isn't too rushed.

Chapter Eleven

Three people looked over at the man with a stern expression on their faces. Ziva, McGee, and Tony were obviously pissed off at Gibbs, so they wanted to confront him by dragging him into an empty room to talk. Gibbs stood there being the same old Gibbs they knew and love except this time the love for him was replaced with utter disappointment.

"Gibbs, you are the last person that I would ever think to hurt Abby," Ziva started before she crossed her arms and glared at him. "Why?"

Gibbs kept silent. He wanted to hear what his team had to say to him while his thoughts were still on Abby. When he didn't speak, McGee spoke up.

"I knew there was something wrong when Abby had to get transferred here. I didn't think it would be for this reason," McGee said but then Tony, out of nowhere, pushed Gibbs against the wall.

"C'mon, Gibbs! What are you thinking! You hurt Abby," Tony said before Ziva pulled him back before he did some real damage to Gibbs. Gibbs continued to stay quiet.

"Damn it, Gibbs! Say something," Tony yelled at his face before letting him go.

"What do you want me to say, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked calmly. But in the inside, he is conflicted. Tony's anger started to rise inside him when Gibbs looked and answered so calm right now. If only Tony knew it wasn't that simple.

"You obviously aren't Gibbs if you don't clearly see what's in front of you," He yelled before he stomped out of the room, afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold back his raging fury inside him that was ready to punch the older man.

"Gibbs, Tony is right. At first, I didn't think you would have feelings for Abby in that way. But thinking back, you held Abby with special regard. There's always a small gesture and that flick of light in your eyes towards Abby. You treat her differently than you treat us. If you continue lying to yourself, you'll find yourself losing Abby as well," Ziva said, less violent than Tony but just as powerful in her words. She left right away to catch up with Tony.

Gibbs looked over at McGee.

"Are you going to tell me off too?" Gibbs asked. McGee shook his head.

"But I've got a question, Gibbs," McGee started, still deciding whether he should ask or not.

"I'm not in the mood right now, McGee," he said before rubbing his right temple with a sigh escaping his lips. He needed to be alone so that he could search for answers that only he could find.

"If it's you, boss, I guess I would feel much better with Abby in your hands. At first, I felt many emotions raging inside me when I heard what's going on. And I know for sure, she loves you more than me. So Gibbs, I must ask you, are you going to win her heart or are you going to do nothing?"

"What do you think," Gibbs asked rhetorically before leaving the room, thinking about McGee's and his question in mind.

Ducky sat on the couch of the wide living room of the mansion with Jimmy Palmer at his side, who was reading some sort of book. When Gibbs saw him walking towards them, Ducky stood up with a stern look on his face. From Ducky's expression, Gibbs knew that he would want answers from him too.

"Mr. Palmer, I would like to speak to Gibbs _alone_, so if you don't mind…" Ducky started and then gestured for him to give them a moment. Jimmy understood so he quickly nodded and left to read his book someplace else.

"If you are going to scold me, you are too late for that, Ducky. My own team gave me a lecture already," Gibbs said, his mind still in turmoil.

"Jethro, as your friend, I have to say something," Ducky started as Gibbs new that stern look anywhere. It meant that Ducky meant serious business.

"And?"

"I know you still love your wife that is understandable, but you can't hide the fact that you love Abigail as well. You need to stop being afraid, Jethro," Ducky told him. Gibbs looked over at Ducky when he said the last statement. It struck a nerve in Gibbs but he wondered why.

"Don't tell me you didn't realize it, Jethro," Ducky asked, eying his friend in surprise.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Ducky," Gibbs said, but he felt as if he was lying and he doesn't know why.

Ducky shook his head before he mumbled something to himself before he looked at Gibbs again.

"Jethro, my friend, are you going to let Abigail slip away because you were afraid of betraying Shannon and Kelly?" Ducky asked, observing his reaction. Gibbs froze when he said that. "_Just as I suspected_," Ducky thought.

"Ducky, I need a moment to myself," Gibbs told him, knowing full well that he had to get his mind straight and find answers before he lost Abby because of his carelessness. Ducky patted his shoulder and looked up at his friend.

"Good luck, Jethro. It's been years already; you deserve to be happy just like any other person," Ducky told him before he bid his friend farewell.

Gibbs sighed and thought it best to go out to think. If he stayed inside the mansion, he wouldn't be able to contemplate and clarify his feelings for Abby because of all the ruckus from the scene that took place among Abby, the two teams, and him.

He started making his way towards the exit but saw Abby near the door. She seemed dazed and uncomfortable. For a moment, Gibbs didn't recognize her until he had a closer inspection. She was wearing a disguise consisting of a blonde wig that went down to her waist. And instead of her usual black and red attire, she wore a purple plaid skirt and a white short-sleeved buttoned shirt. She didn't wear a black collar around her neck like she usually does and her make-up was natural-looking. Her lips weren't the scarlet red shade that she had once before but was replaced with its natural pink color. Her usual gothic look nowhere in sight except for her boots that she is accustomed to wearing.

Gibbs didn't know what to think about her new look, but he didn't seem to hate it. If Abby didn't look uneasy in it, she would be just as beautiful like her everyday look. To him, she would look good in anything if she was comfortable with it, but he wondered why she is dressed up like that. All he could come up with was that she was going out. She wasn't allowed to go out by herself though, and he wasn't going to let her endanger herself.

"Gibbs?" Her voice called out to him. He snapped away from his thoughts and looked over at her. She wasn't her usual cheery self right now, and Gibbs didn't like that one bit.

"Are you going out?" She asked before she adjusted her wig.

"Yeah," he simply answered. "You?"

"Me too," she replied and then released a heavy sigh. "I just wanted to play some violent games the whole night, but the girls want a night out at a bar. They forced me to dress the opposite of myself because of that threat, and you know how I am with not being able to dress my normal attire. I'm about to go insane becauses of it. What about you?"

"Just needed some time alone," Gibbs answered in his usual casual tone.

"Did everyone give you a hard time because of me? If they are, I'll give them a good beating. I just wanted this argument only between us," Abby told him, sincere concern for him written on her face and she looked apologetic as well.

"Nobody would ever be able to give me a hard time, Abby," Gibbs said before give her a reassuring smirk. "You should know that." Abby looked at him for a moment before she giggled.

"Yeah, you're right. You wouldn't be the Great Gibbs if you let them." Abby smiled and then hugged him. "I missed you. I missed us."

Gibbs slowly returned the hug and simply whispered, "I missed you too... Abbs."

They held each other like that for a few seconds before they broke apart from their hug but their faces were still close, merely inches away from each other. Their eyes were locked into each other's gaze. Unaware of it themselves, they started to close their gap as if their bodies were moving on their own. The gap almost closed between them and their lips almost touched until they heard loud giggling that they snapped out of their hypnotized state. Abby and Gibbs were surprised at what they were about to do and turned away from each other. Abby's face turned a noticeable red. Gibbs mentally slapped the back of his head for being caught up in the moment. Abby looked over where the giggling came from and saw Ziva, Phoenix, and Lily heading towards Gibbs and her.

"Sorry for making you wait, Abby," Phoenix said as Abby shook her head.

"All of you are right on time actually," Abby said nervously but tried to hide it. Lily and Ziva noticed it and gave a questioning look.

"Did something happen when we were getting dressed?" Lily asked, her arms crossed before looking over at Gibbs for answers.

"I'll see you later, Abby," Gibbs told her and then faced the three other women. "Keep Abby safe."

"Are you going out too, Gibbs?" Ziva asked. Gibbs nodded before he went out the door.

He went to the car that Briggs allowed him to choose and drove off. He started to look for some place vacant and quiet. He parked at an empty street, unafraid of the dangers that come with such a quiet and eerie place.

It finally hit Gibbs that he may have feelings for Abby. The moment when he almost kissed Abby clarified it. The moment when her green eyes met his, it triggered something inside his head. The warm hug just before may have started it all. His senses were heightened at the time. And now that he was alone, he remembered clearly what was in his mind when they held each other. Her scent, her skin, and her voice gave him a "tingly feeling" as Abby would put it. Her scent was natural and maybe that of sweet smell of berries when he breathed in the scent of her hair. Her skin felt smooth yet cool against him. He felt the urge to make her skin warm with his own. Her voice when she told him that she missed him made him smile. Even though they see each other every day, they started to drift apart, and he knew she missed him and he missed her too. No, he yearned for her. He yearned for her to be his again.

The reason why he was jealous of Briggs, he finally figured out, was that he took away the special moment between Abby and him. His hugs meant that he will always be there and the kisses meant that he is proud of her yet held another special meaning in which he didn't know until now. What was the special meaning? He loves her more than words could ever express. The bringing in the Caf-Pow personally to Abby held special importance to Gibbs as well. It meant that even though they were opposites, they both had something in common. This sort of affection showed that Abby is and will always be his. Briggs took it away by becoming affectionate the same way he was showing his. No longer was it unique only for the two of them and the special meaning behind his actions changed.

And then etched in his mind is Shannon and Kelly, the two most prominent females he loved very much. Shannon pretty much influenced him in finding love through red-heads, even though he knew no one would ever be able to replace his loving wife. He never really opened up to any of his three ex-wives nor his lovers. His devotion to his wife caused a barrier from him ever truly loving another woman. He was afraid that he wouldn't be forgiven for being truly happy after he left his wife and daughter. And in the end, lost them due to his absence. The guilt would never fade.

But just for a moment, he felt that Abby would give him happiness. At first, he didn't think of Abby as anything other than a daughter he never got to have. The kisses and hugs were meant to be fatherly until Abby started flirting with him. He thought of it as nothing more than a way for Abby to compliment him, and he played along with it by nodding and smirking. It started out innocent just calling him handsome and that nobody could deny him. But slowly, the flirting started to escalate into something more. Abby started flirting about how she felt tingles whenever she saw him, and that she wouldn't mind him coming over to her apartment. To add to the hidden meaning, she winked seductively at him. Gibbs didn't really mind since they weren't really father and daughter, and flirting wouldn't hurt anyone. Things started out okay, but he suddenly flirted back even though it was nothing much. Just like the time during Halloween when she dressed up as Marilyn Monroe, he gave a quick look and said, "not bad for a blonde." He didn't think anything of it until after they finished the case that he concluded that she looked beautiful in anything.

The thought made him smirk when he remembered the time. Abby was the one that he would give all his attention to. His favorite coffee blend could never compare to Abby and thrice did he let it fall from his hands to run to her aid. Slowly, he knew that he fell for her. If it weren't for today, he may have never known his pushed back feelings for her. All of these years he didn't get jealous because he knew that her relationships with other men didn't last long. There was nothing wrong with her, mind you, it just seemed that the close relationship she needed couldn't be found in the men she dated. It was Gibbs that always comforted her every time her heart became broken.

And in all, after a few weeks of her not being in D.C., he greatly missed her. When she left him, he wondered why he became so angry at her for telling him to let go of Shannon and Kelly and to move on with his life. And now, he figured out why. Shannon and Kelly were the reasons he met Abby in NCIS. If he moved on, he was afraid that his relationship with Abby would change and Abby would move on from him as well. Another reason is that he was afraid to be happy if he loved someone just as important as Shannon. He was afraid to lose her like he did with Shannon. And the woman that he would move on with his life with would have been Abby if he didn't try to deny it himself. Though they were unusual answers, to Gibbs it made sense. He had the right to worry because he could never bear to lose Abby in any way, even if he did love her very much.

He wondered though why he didn't realize any of this. Did he push back all of this in the back of his mind without knowing? If he did, he wondered how he was able to do so. Ducky did say once that the human mind is so complex that even one does not know what he or she is thinking or doing, and it must be that Gibbs doesn't even know what he is thinking when it comes to Abby.

"Shannon, what should I do? Tell me what I need to do," Gibbs whispered as he looked out at the night sky in his car.

As for Abby, she was trying to figure out what had happened. She almost kissed Gibbs and Gibbs almost kissed her back. This made Abby confused and about to go crazy thinking about it. And with the girls around her, they knew how to keep a secret, especially Ziva. And of course, she needed to tell them about it and ignoring Gibbs' rule number four.

"So, you almost kissed Gibbs, did you? And he almost kissed you as well?" Lily suddenly asked when Abby told them what just happened between Gibbs and her.

"I don't know what that means. Does that mean he loves me or does it mean his brain went haywire which confused him to do things from all that stress you guys gave him?" Abby asked while nervously playing with her fingers. "I love Gibbs, but I don't want him to kiss me because he doesn't want to hurt me."

"Calm down, Abby. Maybe he's trying to figure out his feelings," Phoenix said all too calmly. "There are moments that a person doesn't know they love someone until they start to lose them. I guess it happens to your boss as well."

Ziva then looked at Phoenix curiously and asked, "Did it happen to you? It sounds as if you've experienced it before."

Phoenix shrugged. "Once. I turned fat because of it, and decided to live the rest of my life being single."

"You aren't fat just a bit chubby, Phoenix. And anyways, you look very cute the way you are," Lily told her. "Don't look down on yourself. The same thing for you Abby. He may have finally opened his eyes and finally see you as his woman. Like the saying goes, men are just plain slow."

Abby looked up at her surprised and then looked down again, blushing like a teenage girl who had her first love.

"You think so? "Do you really think Gibbs likes me the way I like him?" Abby asked.

Ziva, Phoenix, and Lily looked at each other and smiled before saying confidently, "We know so."

"But the important question is, are you going to take him in if he realizes his feelings for you? Or should we just torture him a bit for all the pain he gave you?" Lily said, smirking slyly. Abby shook her head instantly.

"It's one thing to torture someone, but you three torturing Gibbs means that he won't come back alive. Nope, not going to let you girls hurt my Gibbs," Abby said sternly.

"My?" Ziva smirked with a raised eyebrow. "I see Abby has her determination back. What should we do girls?"

"Drink our hearts out!" They yelled joyously before they clinked their beer glasses except for Phoenix who had water. She was picked as the designated driver, but she didn't mind at all. She was never good at drinking beer anyways.

After drinking a few glasses of beer, Abby started to get drunk. Ziva and Lily were quite heavy drinkers, so they knew how to down their drinks. Phoenix just sat quietly, listening to some sort of music so that the three could get themselves drunk.

Suddenly, Abby in her drunk stupor cried out happily, "I love you Gibbs!"

As if on cue, Gibbs came across the same bar as the girls. When he entered, he was rather surprised to hear Abby's sudden confession. Gibbs just stared blankly at the drunken Abby. It was one thing knowing her feelings for him but it was another when he heard it from her lips. If anything, he could feel only his heart race. Abby noticed him and started walking towards him with her legs feeling like jelly. The three girls noticed this but did nothing, amused to see what will happen. She was almost there until she tripped on her own feet. And with fast reflexes, Gibbs caught her. Abby giggled and looked up at him.

"Gibbs... my hero!" Abby said, hiccuping as she did so. Gibbs did nothing but stare at her strangely. "Did you know I love you this much?" She flinged her arms to gesture she loved Gibbs alot, but she accidentally hit Gibbs' face. He didn't really mind though, but she did.

"Ah! Sorry, Gibbs! Didn't mean to... hurt you," she said, looking concerned at Gibbs. Her hands now delicately touching Gibbs' face.

"I'm all right, Abbs," he told her quietly. Abby's face suddenly lightened up.

"Did you know that... you mean everything to me? Because, you know... it's true," Abby said before giggling.

"I know," Gibbs told her. Abby giggled once more.

"Yay! Gibbs, you're the greatest!" Abby said in a child-like way before giving him a tight hug. Gibbs looked over to the three girls who were now fully amused at the scene. Gibbs gave a sigh, wondering how much she drank to get her this drunk.

"_So much for getting a drink_," Gibbs thought.

"I'm taking her back home," he told the three girls. Ziva and Phoenix nodded but Lily had something to say.

"Don't go back home too early. Drive around for a bit," Lily suggested. "Don't think Gloria would be too happy finding out her daughter is drunk."

Gibbs stared at her for a bit before he sighed and nodded.

"I'll take her home when she's sleeping," he told them. This gave the girls to smile at him slyly.

"Don't do anything naughty," Lily said before winking at him. Gibbs gave a low growl before he put Abby's arm around his shoulder and left the bar.

When he successfully put Abby in the car who was thrashing all about like a child, he started to drive off. Abby was still awake and drunk. She giggled here and there.

"Gibbs, I was sad when you forced me to leave your side," Abby told him. Gibbs concentrated on the road. He didn't see the tears that fell from her eyes. "But you know, I am happy that you are here with me." She started sniffling which hinted Gibbs that she was crying.

"Me too, Abbs. Me too," he replied.

"Then why did you make me leave! Why did you make me leave your side?" Abby yelled angrily. "It wasn't right! It wasn't right!"

"I know Abbs. I know it isn't fair. I was afraid of what Shannon and Kelly will think and afraid to lose you as well," he explained.

"Without you, I won't be able to be me," Abby continued. The rage disappearing immediately just as it came.

"Same thing for me," Gibbs replied.

"Do you love me Gibbs? Do you? Because I really really love you," Abby said before she motioned towards him and hugging him, which made Gibbs swerve the wheel. Thankfully, he was able to control it. Afraid that they may be in a car accident, Gibbs parked at a nearby parking lot with quite a bit of reckless driving while he did so.

He finally turned his head to look over at Abby, who still held him in an embrace.

"I love you too, Abbs," he finally said, the meaning to be true when he held her tightly back.

Abby suddenly let go of him and just stared at him. She smiled for a few seconds before suddenly attacking Gibbs with a kiss. This startled Gibbs but didn't take too long to kiss her back. Though brief, Abby let go of him. Her face starting to turn pale. Gibbs knew what that meant and immediately unbuckle his seat belt and her seat belt as well. He then got out of the car and opened the passenger's seat. Abby turned to her now opened door, leaned over, and vomitted. After she finished, he wiped her mouth with a paper towel and closed her side of the door. He got back into the car and buckled both their seatbelts. When he turned to look at Abby, she was already asleep. He smiled and then kissed her forehead, muttering a low "I love you" before driving off back home. A grin plastered on Gibbs' face as he finally decided what to do the next day.

It's too bad that Abby wouldn't remember what happened between them when she was drunk. All she remembered was the pep-talk, the drinks, the migrane, and wondering how the heck she got to bed. But for some reason, Abby felt that something good happened. She just didn't know what.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I would like to thank **Kris Morene** for the constructive criticism. I understand my story and my writing lack in many places, so I will try to improve as much as I can. I am not very good at imagery and all that, so please forgive me for the nuisance of telling instead of showing. I also want to apologize for it being short, but I'm going to be pretty busy the next week. I just wanted to post this chapter for the week.

Chapter Twelve

Abby sat up and was about to get off the bed but noticed something heavy on her stomach. She pulled the sheets up to see an arm around her waist. She then slowly turned to the right and gasped. Gibbs was sleeping right next to her. She looked down at her clothes, relieved that her clothes were in tact and Gibbs was dressed as well. One question was why was he on her bed?

But soon afterwards, she noticed something peculiar about her room. It didn't contain the decorations that she tried so hard to make the room look Abby-like. She then looked around the room some more and noticed that the furniture was different. It took a while for her mind to click that this wasn't her bed and that she wasn't in her room. Instead, she figured it belonged to Gibbs because he seemed quite comfortable. Her lips slowly moved up, showing her precious smile at the adorable sleeping Gibbs.

"_Oh, I feel like attacking him now!_" Abby squealed in her head. "_But why am I in his room?"_

She tried to think about what had happened when she was drunk but her mind wouldn't let her and instead had added a throbbing pain to her migrane. She moaned quietly at the pain and placed her hands on her head, rubbing the throbbing temples with her index and middle fingers. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to settle down the hangover.

Gibbs stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes slowly to see Abby was already sitting up on his bed. He yawned before he sat up next to her. Abby started getting nervous again when he was up and awake right beside her. She had so many questions she wanted to ask but didn't know where to start.

"If you've got something to ask, ask," Gibbs told her, his voice rough and tired.

"Wh- Why am I in your bed, Gibbs? Why are you in bed with me? Did we do anything? Better yet, did I do something to you? What did I do?" Abby said nervously before her head started hurting again, enough to clutch her head.

"Calm down, Abbs. First, I'll get you some aspirin for that hangover you have," Gibbs told her, but she held onto his shirt.

"Gibbs, did I... do something unnecessary?" Abby asked, her eyes more worried than anything else.

"No, you did something very necessary, so don't worry. Let me get you your aspirin. I'll be quick," he told her warmly before kissing her forehead. This completely shocked Abby, who froze on the spot. Gibbs saw the expression and left with a smirk on his face.

"_Okay, calm down, Abbs. There must be a logical reason for Gibbs to do that_," she thought before she shook her head a few minutes later when she didn't have an answer. But as soon as she did that, she regretted it as it gave her twice the already throbbing pain in her head.

Gibbs came in time with the pills and a glass of water. He sat next to her on the bed and gave her two pills of aspirin and the glass of water. Abby looked up at Gibbs for a moment before she thanked him and took the medicine.

"You're not going to work today, Abbs. We don't have any assignments today either so you can rest up all you want," Gibbs told her. Abby looked up at him with a frown.

"But it's going to be boring the whole morning and the Mardi Gras parade doesn't start until four thirty in the afternoon," Abby pouted. "And when are you going to answer my questions?"

"You don't want to spend the whole morning with me? And to think I've already made plans for us tonight," Gibbs said before he caressed her in an embrace with Abby's head laid against his chest.

Abby became speechless, not knowing what to say except for one thing, "Am I dreaming?"

Gibbs smiled before kissing the top of her head.

"No, Abbs, it isn't a dream." Gibbs said, stroking her back lightly which made Abby shiver in a good way. "Is the offer still open?

"Offer?" Her voice low yet Gibbs heard her.

"Us. Together," he answered simply. Abby pulled away and looked hard in his eyes. After a few seconds of trying to process it in her mind, she smiled and held Gibbs happily. Though her brain was pulsing, the pain subsided when she heard those words.

For a while, they did nothing but stay in each other's embrace while the aspirin started kicking in and Abby slowly drifted to sleep. Gibbs laid her down with him lying beside her and ever so gently brushed his lips against her neck. He pulled away, afraid he would do much more than that and take advantage of the now sleeping princess. It was rather hard for Gibbs to hold back his now built up desires for her, but he rather felt content in lying beside her. And even if he wanted to leave, he couldn't. Abby was the one holding him tightly even in her sleep, so Gibbs had no other choice but to stay with her just like the time when she was drunk.

"Abbs, everything will become official tonight," Gibbs whispered in her ear, half hoping she would hear him. "Just wait for me a little longer."

Abby's lips curved into a smile. Even though she was unconscious, she somehow heard him. Gibbs noticed and kissed the top of her head. His eyes slowly drooping before he held a smile on his face and starting to drift into unconscious.

Peeking through the room were the two teams (except for Moon), Ducky, and Jimmy Palmer. Moon was being held back by the others for trying to break up the peaceful atmosphere between the two soon-to-be lovers. They even bind his wrists and feet with rope and gagged him from trying to do anything to destroy it.

"About time," Tony whispered before closing the door and then made perverted jokes about how Gibbs wouldn't be able to resist her when she's alone in her lab. This made Moon wriggle in response, his eyes flaming with anger, but everybody completely ignored him.

"Is there anything else in your mind that isn't about movie quotes and perverse thoughts?" Ziva questioned, staring daggers at him. Tony shrugged with a bright smile.

"Someone has to talk about it. I'm just saying what everybody's thinking," Tony answered.

"Oh, really?" Lily asked with an air of attitude. Her brow rose in a questioning manner, but the overall look gestured a challenge.

"And what were you thinking when Ziva started biting those chocolate strawberries earlier?" Lily asked. A smirk placed on her lips when she saw Tony's eyes widened in reaction.

Tony cleared his throat and fixed his jacket before he shrugged, trying to look calm as he did so.

"That she'll turn fat if she eats too much of it," he answered simply, but nobody, except for Ziva and Palmer, believed in it. And of course, Ziva wasn't too fond when the word "fat" was mixed in with her.

"I'll give you five seconds before I hunt you down, Tony DiNozzo," Ziva told him, cracking her knuckles while she did so. Tony gave her a quick nervous smile before running for his life with Ziva behind him.

McGee sighed and shook his head at their childish antics. He looked over at Moon, who was struggling and gave glares at the remaining people. McGee was actually afraid of him. He had such a deadly aura about him like those police dogs. And well, McGee didn't have much luck with dogs lately. Although Jethro, the dog, started to rub off on him. McGee missed his furry companion and wondered how his friend is treating him. McGee thought about bringing Jethro, but he didn't want to put him in a cage in the plane. He would rather let Jethro stay with his friend than to let him be caged.

Jimmy noticed McGee looking rather deep in thought and thought that McGee must be hurt from Gibbs and Abby getting together. Jimmy walked over to him and patted McGee's shoulder to comfort him. McGee looked over at Jimmy, confused.

"It must be hard for you, McGee," Jimmy started. "But everything will be okay. You'll be able to find someone better."

"What are you talking about Palmer?" McGee asked, not understanding. After a few seconds of processing it in his brain, he understood what he meant and just smiled. "Did you think I'm sad because of Gibbs and Abby?"

Palmer nodded innocently, not knowing the fact that McGee was missing Jethro. McGee chuckled lightly and shook his head. And of course, Palmer was surprised and became more confused at his response, wondering if McGee had gone crazy.

"I'm not sad about that, Palmer. I'm just worried about Jethro, the dog," McGee explained. "Since I'm away from him for two months, I'm wondering if he's okay."

Palmer looked at him for a moment, doubting his words. And of course, being that a friend that he is, only accepted his excuse for now. Unfortunately for McGee, the small misunderstanding led to Palmer believing that he was in denial.

After the moment of seeing Abby and Gibbs sleeping peacefully together, Ducky was being flirted by Lily. And like many times before, Ducky would thank her but kindly told her he already has a woman that he loves. Lily shrugged and put her arms around Ducky.

"Tell me, Ducky. How faithful are you?" Lily asked, whispering near his ear.

"Faithful enough to tell you, Miss Gray, not to try my patience. I will never cheat on my lovely lady," Ducky told her as Lily chuckled.

"Oh, how fun it is to tease men like you," Lily said softly before letting him go. "Keep your word, Mr. Medical Examiner. We need more devoted men in this world."

With a warm smile, she left soon after. Ducky watched her leave and crossed his arms, wondering about Lily and her reason for going after him. His hypothesis was that she must've endured some sort of trauma in her life that involved with relationships. He just didn't know what that trauma would be. All he knew was that he saw the signs that led to his guess.

"_This team here is getting curiouser and curiouser_," Ducky thought.

Briggs, who was rather overprotective of Abby, just smiled warmly at the scene with her and Gibbs and enjoyed the humorous scenes the two teams played out. He left the groups to themselves while sighing in relief as he did so. Along the way, he took out a picture of a young girl being held by a mysterious dark-haired man holding her. He kissed the young girl, before his eyes started to water at the sudden rush of emotion when he looked over at the girl.

Dressed in a white Sunday dress, the little dark brunette smiled her toothy smile with her blue eyes staring at the camera. She made a peace sign with her right hand. Meanwhile, the mystery man squatted while holding the little girl's waist with one arm. He held a big smile like that of the girl and made the same gesture of the peace sign with his left hand. His blue eyes looking over at the photographer lovingly and warmly.

"_Mission accomplished. Everything from now on depends on the two of you_," Briggs thought before he placed the photo in his pocket and started off towards his garden. The tears that started to form in his eyes disappeared quickly after he controlled his feelings.

It didn't take long before Briggs met up with Gloria in the garden. A smile formed on her lips when she saw Briggs coming towards her.

"_Are they together?_" Gloria signed. Briggs nodded. "_Thank you for fulfilling my request, Briggs. It must have been hard for you to do all those false threats and improvising as you go along for Abby's sake._"

"_It is no problem, Gloria. Jeffrey Briggs is used to it. After all, he has been trained for twenty years trying his best to perfect his pretenses. Just hope after this, Jeffrey Briggs doesn't need to interfere in anymore Abby matchmaking or make-ups._ _I almost didn't let go of Abby in the end,"_ Briggs signed before he looked over at the lilies, his dark eyes staring intensely at the flowers. A long pause came between them before Briggs looked back at Gloria.

_"I miss Anne, Gloria. I miss her so much_," Briggs signed. Gloria smiled warmly at him before patting his shoulder, comforting him.

"_I know, Angelo. I know_," Gloria signed back.

Briggs looked over at her for a moment before he broke down crying, letting all his vent up feelings free. For now, he would be Angelo for the first time in a long while. Gloria held him like a mother to a child, comforting him in silence.

It was only about two hours before Abby and Gibbs woke up from their slumber. They continued to lay under the sheets, holding each other in an embrace. Her head laid on top of his chest, breathing in his scent and forging it in her mind. Abby still couldn't believe this wasn't a dream.

As soon as she woke up, she thought she would be in her room with a broken heart, thinking that Gibbs laying next to her was just her imagination. Instead, she was surprised to see Gibbs still by her side, staring at her with such loving eyes. She slowly moved her hand to touch Gibbs' face. Her fingers started on his cheeks and then slowly went down to trace his lips. By that time, Gibbs held her hand with his own and kissed the top of her knuckles and then on her forehead. It only took that much for Abby to realize she wasn't hallucinating. Tears started to form in her eyes as she held tightly to Gibbs, her head on his chest as she heard his calm heart beat. Her breath slowly returned to her, not knowing she held in her breath.

Gibbs took in her scent as well, knowing in his arms would be the woman that he cared greatly about and wouldn't mind staying with the rest of his life with. He could feel Abby tightened her grip on his shirt. He gave a small squeeze on her shoulder to reassure her that he is still here. After everything that happened, Gibbs knew that he needed to do something for her to trust him again and to close the gap that he had made between them. He could feel his shirt starting to get wet and knew Abby must have started crying. He didn't mind at all and allowed her emotions run free. This time he was going to confront his feelings head on. No longer hiding behind his excuses and the barrier he built up. This time he wasn't going to let this woman in his arms slip away, even if he was going to die trying.

"Are you hungry?" Gibbs finally spoke, not knowing what to say. It was like a first date all over again.

Abby started sniffling and shook her head, "Can we stay like this for a moment longer?"

"Whatever you want, Abbs," he told her, rubbing his hand against her arm.

"Love you, Gibbs," she told him before looking up at him with a smile.

"Love you too, Abbs," he answered back before kissing the top of her head.

"But I love you more," Abby told him as Gibbs chuckled.

"We'll see about that," he whispered. Abby looked at him questioningly before he smirked and said, "But you have to wait for tonight."

"But why tonight?" Abby whined, and then punched his arm lightly.

"For suspense," Gibbs started, "All women like the suspense."

Abby rolled her eyes and then sticked her tongue out like a little girl. Gibbs chuckled at her childish behavior and started to wipe away the remaining tears.

"Let's get washed up," Gibbs said before Abby crossed her arms and shook her head. Thankfully, she didn't wear her pigtails or else he'll get whipped by that dangerous weapon of hers.

"I just want to say one thing before I return to my room. Even though I'm happy that you've returned my feelings, there's going to be a lot of compensation for all the things you've put me through," Abby told him. Gibbs smirked and nodded, loving the usual Abby he came to love. "And the most awesome morning between us won't cut it, even though I woke up with a migrane and still don't remember what had happened last night. Now, that I think about it..."

"Abbs," Gibbs warned, reminding her that she is rambling.

"Huh?" Abby looked over at him for a moment before she chuckled nervously. "Oh right. Straight to the point. Gotcha. This morning between us and whatever you are planning won't cut it. I won't forgive you that easily even if you give me those tingling kisses."

"Are you ready to wash up now?" Gibbs said in his usual Gibbs-like manner. Abby smiled and jumped out of bed, not minding that Gibbs wasn't worried or showing any expression for that matter. She loved her silver-haired fox the way he is.

"Yep!" Abby said cheerfully and kissed Gibbs on the cheek before leaving. After she closed the door behind her, he chuckled and shook his head.

"_My Abbs_," he thought before he entered his bathroom with a smile on his face.

Not long after, they both headed towards the dining room. Everyone stared at them except for Aaron, Lisa and Gloria, who already left for work and school while the latter went to the garden to tend for the fruits and vegetables. Abby looked innocently at them, not knowing why they were looking at them with such an unusual manner. Gibbs wasn't concerned nor bothered by their looks. He already knew they must have known they spent the night together in the same bed.

"So how did you two sleep?" Lily asked slyly. Abby's eyes widened in surprised and started to blush.

"Did you guys..." Abby started before everyone interrupted her in unison, answering with nods and some saying "yes" and "of course".

"Wipe that smirk away, DiNozzo. We didn't do anything," Gibbs ordered when Tony gave that perverted smirk of his.

"Yes, boss," DiNozzo said nervously before Ziva and McGee smirked at him for being in trouble by Gibbs.

"Like anyone believes that," Moon said snippily with his arms crossed in utter annoyance.

"Oh, stop being such a kid, Moon. All of your cool points are going down the drain," Lily teased him. Moon glared at her in reply.

All throughout breakfast, everyone teased them with playful expressions. It started to annoy Gibbs while Abby joined in the fun after she finished blushing from teases headed her way by the girls. And even though they are considered being together, Gibbs wanted to make it official tonight by having their first date together. He just hoped none of these people here would interrupt their special moment together, but somewhere in Gibbs' gut knew that nothing is as easy as he hoped for. He learned that from experience. But sometimes, his gut would be wrong. He just needed to find a way to believe that.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**: Just watched the two recent episodes of NCIS. **Spoilers:** Abby's appearance aren't that long anymore. I still like the episodes which showed a bit of Tony's past. He's still funny even in his flashbacks but it was rather an emotional moment for him as well. The latest episode just became too emotional. Why? Why must he die? That was in my mind when the episode ended. Edit: Before I get into trouble, Tony doesn't die. Someone else dies but we all know him. Other than that, I can't wait for tonight's episode! Well, on with the story! **Disclaimer**: I do not own the NCIS characters or anything that does not belong to me. I also do not own the pub I have described in this story. I found it online when I was looking up New Orleans. I have never been to the place so I'll be making some stuff up from what I saw on their site and some reviews about the place.

Chapter Thirteen

The two teams, other than Gibbs and Briggs, decided to go to the Mardi Gras parade together with Aaron, Lisa, Ducky and Palmer coming along as well. Gloria decided to stay at home as she wasn't much for crowds. Gibbs was the same, but he spent his time preparing for tonight's date.

Abby was once again dressed up in her disguise except now she wore a mask that hid half of her face and a large floppy hat to hide her from the sun's light like Abby wanted instead of her black parasol that she usually uses. Even though it was in the afternoon, she didn't like the sun whatsoever. She looked right for the parade as both the hat and the mask were adorned by the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold (or yellow).

As for the other members, Tony and McGee wore jester hats and the girls wore masks. Lisa wore her handmade Mardi Gras mask with feathers sticking out on the sides and wore a female jester's uniform. All the others wore their casual clothes with a bit of the Mardi Gras colors on them. Everyone enjoyed making fun of each other, especially Tony making fun of McGee. And of course, McGee ignored him. When everyone left on their way to the parade, Gibbs started to prepare by calling the pub to reserve a table for two.

The pub, Flannagan's Pub, was quite special. It had an Abby-like feeling to it. Not only does it have some Goths but it had a comfortable and talkative environment that is just like Abby. It was the perfect place for him and her to have their date instead of any ordinary high class restaurant they can go to. And afterwards, they could listen to the dark tales of the French Quarter, one of the oldest neighborhoods of New Orleans.

Gibbs smiled proudly at himself when he thought about Abby's ecstatic face when she sees what he has in store for her. After he finished making reservations for the pub, he called up the florist for the dozen roses he ordered just this morning. He spoke to Gloria about him going out for a bit before driving off to the flower shop. After he got the black roses, he went on his way to a gift shop to buy a stuffed animal. Presumably, a very special kind like Bert, the farting hippo. He looked around and found nothing that would catch his attention. After going through two other gift shops, Gibbs started to become a very grouchy man when he found nothing. To relieve his anger, he went to a coffee shop to buy his specific blend of coffee and started to wander around the neighborhood. It wasn't until he stopped abruptly at an old antique shop when he saw a stuffed silver-gray fox toy in a glass case on the display window. Knowing Abby's nickname for him, he knew this was the perfect gift and the fox even had blue eyes, making it more perfect to buy.

"_Lucky_," Gibbs thought with a smirk before entering the shop.

Just like the dusty display window, the shop wasn't well cleaned. Dust could be easily spotted everywhere in the place. There were all sorts of trinkets and antiques in there, but he didn't spot any other human except for himself. He heard noises behind the counter inside the room on the right. Not long after, a young scruffy woman came out of the room, growling under her breath when her foot got caught in something.

"Are you selling that silver fox toy?" Gibbs finally spoke up, not caring how miserable the woman in front of him is. She looked up to see Gibbs. And for some reason, she was gawking at him.

"_This is the first time I've ever seen a guy like him here. Is he a tourist? Wonder if he's got anybody he likes_," The woman thought. Even though he was older than her, she couldn't stop staring at him, and too eye-catching to look away.

Unfortunately for her, Gibbs didn't care. Her gawking was far too long for Gibbs' taste, so he tried to get her attention back to the business at hand. He waved his hand in front of her face a few times, but she stood there motionless. Gibbs sighed, aggravated that he was getting nowhere with this.

"Hello?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"Huh?" The lady finally answered after several seconds of Gibbs trying to get back her attention by being vocal.

"I want to know if that fox is for sale," Gibbs asked once more, pointing at the silver fox with his thumb.

"Oh? Uh... yeah. A hundred dollars for that special one. It's been made by a master craftsman. The eyes are also made especially by the master himself. But because of it being to pricey, nobody would ever buy a simple stuffed animal like that. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't..."

Before the lady was able to finish, Gibbs handed her a hundred dollar bill. It pays off not having advanced technology and credit cards. And lo and behold, saving does wonders when one needs it the most.

"Mister, I'm not sure if you're crazy, but I didn't expect a guy like you would buy such expensive things so carelessly. And from the looks of it, it doesn't look like you're buying it for your daughter. Grandaughter?"

"No. My girlfriend. I can take it now, right?" Gibbs asked, walking towards the display window. The woman's forehead creased and her lips turned into a thin line.

"_Why are all the good-looking guys always get taken?_" The lady thought.

"Hold it. I need to check if this money you gave me is authentic. Can never be too sure if I'm cheated even if you are handsome," the woman said roughly. She took the one hundred dollar bill and hold it up to the window with the most light to see whether or not if there is a watermark. She nodded her head and walked towards the display window and handed it to him.

"Your girlfriend is lucky," the woman told him before Gibbs smirked, nodded his head, and then left without turning back or saying another word.

All he had to do now was to wait for Abby and the night to start.

Meanwhile, Abby and everyone else were having fun trying to catch the bead necklaces and moon pies. The one who had the most fun was Lisa, though Tony was all smiles as well. The floats that passed by were brilliant and colorful. It was the first time Ziva experienced Mardi Gras parades and so was McGee. They weren't really interested, but it was a great experience for the both of them. Tony, on the other hand, was busying himself with the single ladies out there without their masks. And of course, he had a few numbers. Tony only need to learn his lesson once to never ask a masked stranger for her number or his for this case.

"So, Tony, learned your lesson?" Ziva joked at the scene with Tony and the man under the mask.

"Oh, shut it, Ziva," Tony said, cringing at the thought. "How would I have known that was a guy under that mask? He had long, smooth blonde hair with feminine features. No guy should be like that!"

"You looked at his butt didn't you?" McGee questioned, joining in the teasing of Anthony DiNozzo.

"What comes around, goes around, Tony," Lily said with a smirk on her face.

"Are you guys done yet?" Tony growled.

"You know I remember a time when my friend also endured the same fate as Anthony did except it started in a bar..." Ducky started one of those long stories of his, only Abby and Palmer were willing to listen to it. The rest were occupied in other things while pretending they were listening to the whole story.

"He accepted him as a lover in the end though," Ducky finished. Abby was smiling at the end while Palmer was "wowed" by the story.

"So a gay man turned a straight man gay?" Palmer asked. Ducky nodded.

"Love knows no limits, Mr. Palmer. Very few exceptions are made though," Ducky told him.

"That's a great story, Ducky. I'm glad you told it," Abby said before she put an arm around Ducky's shoulder.

"I second that," Palmer agreed. Ducky chuckled and nodded with a proud look on his face.

"Thank you, Abigail and Mr. Palmer. You two may be the only ones that can endure my storytelling," Ducky said as he watched the others preoccupied by other things.

"But Doctor Mallard, your stories are always interesting," Palmer said innocently with a bright smile.

"You must get out more, Mr. Palmer. Stories are fun to listen to, but the experience... the experience is all the more refreshing," Ducky advised as Palmer nodded, taking note of it.

"And who knows? You'll be Ducky the Second," Abby joked.

"Other than that, how are you and Jethro doing?" Ducky asked Abby with concern. Abby suddenly blushed before fidgeting with her fingers.

"Gibbs and I have a date tonight, but he's all secretive and stuff. So, I am a bit nervous," Abby said truthfully. Ducky chuckled and patted Abby's shoulder, comforting her.

"If anything, Jethro is as much nervous than you are even though he wouldn't show it," Ducky said.

"Really?" Both Palmer and Abby said in unison.

"Of course. He is human afterall."

"What are ya guys talking about?" Tony intruded when he noticed the three chatting.

"Well, I'm heading back. Got enough moon pies for a whole week," Abby said with a perky smile, even though her face was blushing madly.

"More like you can't wait to see Gibbs again," Lily teased.

Abby had gotten more red on the face before she walked away to her car with Moon by her side. Abby looked over at him but Moon explained before she had the time to ask.

"Just escorting you back to the car before I go back. Never know when a rapist lurks around," Moon told her with a cool expression.

"I could protect myself, you know. You saw how I took down that one guy," Abby said with confidence while walking.

"But that's just it. It is _only_ one guy. You could take that man easily, but what if he is much more broader or if there were more than one? For me, I could take them down easily because I was trained to do so but not for your case."

"You forgot about your gun," Abby joked. Moon sighed before he faced her and he held her by her shoulders.

"Abby, if Gibbs ever makes you cry, tell me. I don't mind breaking a few bones," Moon said. Abby looked over at him, surprised that he was looking so serious (well, more serious than usual) at her.

"So that confession wasn't a joke?" Abby asked, remembering that sudden confession. Moon looked at her for a moment before he sighed and brushed his fingers against his hair.

"In what way was it a joke? I was very serious," Moon answered.

"How would I know? You always look so serious, and you've got to admit that you do have a bad sense of humor."

"I do not," Moon said with an annoyed tone.

They were halfway to the parking lot until they heard gunshots nearby. Moon held out his arm, pushing Abby back in a protective manner before they saw a man with a gun, who looked frantic and scared coming out of an alleway.

"Get behind me, Abby and call the police and ambulance. I think a guy is injured," Moon whispered as Abby nodded her head even though she was surprised and afraid. She took out her cell phone with shaking hands and dialed a number.

H-hello, is this the police station?" Abby asked in a quiet manner but enough to be heard on the other line. She continued to talk on the phone while Moon observed the frantic guy. The suspicious man seemed to be focused on the alleyway he had come out of and didn't notice that Moon and Abby were at the crime scene.

Moon took out his gun and whispered instructions to Abby again.

"Get to safety, Abby. I have to take that guy down before he shoots again." Abby nodded in response before hiding nearby and continued to talk on the phone but with the ambulance this time.

"Put the gun down!" Moon yelled at the guy. The man turned to him and he started flailing with his gun at Moon.

"It an accident! I didn't mean to!" The guy cried before the gun went off.

**A/N**: Sorry for it being too short and late, but I am starting to lose inspiration for this story and just writing in general. I know what I want to write, but something has been preventing me from doing so. I apologize if this chapter sounds monotonous.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**: Sorry if this chapter is incredibly short unlike my other chapters. But do not worry everyone, the story is almost to its close. If my chapters are this short, it may take two more chapters. If it becomes long, it may be only one chapter left. Hopefully, my writing skills would be better when I write my other story. Until then, please bear with this bland writing style of mine. Hopefully, I did not take away your interest in this story. If I did, I deeply apologize for your anticipation and wasting your time.

Chapter Fourteen

Gibbs was as ready as ever, yet he was also nervous as well. This felt like his first date with Shannon except the one with Abby was a little more settled because of experience. He didn't dress up fancy for this date because he knew Abby liked her men raw and Gibbs was just that. Shannon and Abby were the only two women in his life that can make him into a nervous wreck.

The experiences of Abby's near death was horrifying to Gibbs; five times has it happened and he hated himself for it happening in the first place. Some would say that he was protective of her like she was his daughter, but nobody noticed that the fear in his eyes were much more. It was as if the replay of Shannon's death ringed in his mind. As for his team, their near death experiences were more like in Kelly's level; he saw them as his own children. And in full, the whole team and Abby, made up the whole family. As a bonus, Ducky could be considered as Gibbs' older, wiser, and mature brother. And of course, Palmer would be Ducky's son with the way he looked up to Ducky and mimicking him like a son would do.

The more he thought about it, the more Gibbs realized how big his family is getting. He chuckled at the thought and wondered what it would be like if Abby and him had kids. He could imagine Ziva and Tony spoiling the kids though Tony would be more childish and argue with them while Ziva would be the one who would teach them self-defense and make sure they are safe like a big sister would. As for McGee, he would be the level-headed and stern one of the group and make sure the kids wouldn't get out of hand. The imagination piled up as Gibbs continued with his imagination. Ducky would be doting the children and giving them grand gifts and retell his good old adventure days like an older uncle would. Palmer would be nervous around the children at first but found himself enjoying their company when he got used to it. And his father, he would be the one doting them and made sure his grandchildren have everything they wanted while being stern all the same.

It was as if his first date would be the start of a new life for him. The way he imagined his future life with Abby was just like when he was with Shannon on their first date. He let out a chuckle once more from the end of his dream-like state. He waited in anticipation for Abby to come home and start the date he so carefully planned.

But then, something inside his gut wrenched as if something bad happened. And as if on cue, his cellphone rang. Gibbs looked over at the caller ID and found it to belong to Tony. This made Gibbs more unsettled.

As he opened his cell, he answered, "Gibbs."

"Gibbs! I'm so sorry. I just... we... Abby's been kidnapped! Along with Moon," Tony said, his voice shivering from fear and guilt as he gave Gibbs the bad news. Instantly, Gibbs dropped the roses he held to the floor.

"Tell me everything," he growled, his voice raised with rage.

"Well, we were making our way to the parking lot and thought Abby already left to meet you. But when we got halfway there, we noticed something peculiar. We found Moon's gun and cell on the ground with fresh pool of blood and there were trails of it. We followed the trail and found Abby's cell. I'm sorry, boss. We shouldn't have been so careless," Tony explained as calm as he could.

Gibbs found himself quiet and deadly. And not before long, his expression was just as deadly as the air around him.

"Get all the evidence you could find and get to NCIS ASAP," Gibbs ordered angrily. "I'll be there waiting and the team better make sure they get every piece of evidence. If I find out something was missing, there's going to be hell to pay."

He closed his cellphone immediately, not giving the other side the time to speak or answer. He left the black roses on the floor and ran to leave. Gibbs was pissed, and it wasn't going to be a pretty sight. It's like the saying goes, "All hell broke loose" as he drove dangerously to NCIS.

Abby slowly woke up and her eyes fluttered open, adjusting her eyesight to see her surroundings. When she was able to see clearly, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. She saw the pool of blood surrounding Moon on the ground. She remembered how the two got there. The guy they saw at the parking lot was just a decoy before three men caught her by surprise from behind and covered her mouth. Moon was shot by one of the guys that caught her from behind. The guy put two bullets behind Moon's leg and his right shoulder. When Moon turned around to see what had happened, he had no choice but to put his gun down when they held Abby hostage.

"What do you guys want," Moon growled, glaring at them with such venom as he held his injured shoulder.

"Abby Sciuto," one of them answered before they made sure to take out the cellphones on them and anything that would happen to endanger their kidnapping.

They found a couple of knives on Moon that they had no choice but to strip him to his boxers. One of the guys carried his clothes and the weapons. They weren't taking any chances. As they searched Abby, they touched places that made Abby squirm and want to attack them but couldn't because she was held quite tightly. And of course, Moon wasn't too fond of them touching her and grabbing at her harshly. Abby was about to be in tears because of it, but she wouldn't let them fall. No, not in front of these bastards. She tried to be strong like Gibbs, Briggs, and Moon were. When they searched nothing on her except her cellphone, they threw the cellphone aside while Moon's cell was left where he was. Not long after, they were pulled into a large van and were blindfolded before the perpetrators drove off. Abby didn't know when she went unconscious, but she remembered hearing comforting words from Moon before she slipped away into the darkness of sleep.

Now, Abby was frantic. Moon was losing so much blood that it was enough to send him to the Emergency Room. Abby's tears started to fill her eyes when she found herself useless in this situation. She remembered the times she was kidnapped or in danger, but they weren't as scary as this one. Seeing her friend in such a terrible state could give her such a nervous breakdown.

"Gibbs, please. Please come save us," Abby thought.

But little did she know, Moon's injuries weren't compared to what they were going to do to Abby. It was now up to the two teams to save them with the clock ticking relentlessly.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**: I know. I know. I could've done better but I find it better like this than all the other drafts that I've done. It's short, but I found it better to stop it there as well. Next chapter will be the last. If you've got questions, the next chapter will answer them. Warning! This chapter is a bit violent but only if you imagined it that it becomes kind of graphic. Not for the weak-hearted. Sorry for the long wait. I wasn't able to type as much as I thought in my vacation, but here it is. Please, please, if you are going to say this story is bad. Please don't read it unless you have constructive criticism with it. I don't need three messages to tell me that it is bad or it sucks. Thank you. **Edit:** Oh yes, I forgot to add this too. Please do not get offended by this chapter. This is not an attack on religion or anything. This is only a story-wise circumstanceand should not be taken to heart. Thank you once again.

Chapter Fifteen

Gibbs barked orders relentlessly, more than usual. And for some reason, his team didn't mind it at all nor did the other two women that belonged to Briggs' team. It wasn't only the NCIS team that was on the case but the police force as well though the police had to wait for twenty-four hours before they were able to work on the case. And of course, Gibbs wasn't going to wait. At all. He was determined to find Abby and nothing was going to stop him or the team in finding her and the injured Moon. Ducky had found out the blood belonged to Moon and found out that Moon will not have that much time with that much blood he was losing.

With all this commotion, only Briggs was not there to be with the two teams. It raised concern in Phoenix and Lily but they found complete agreement amongst themselves that Abby was more important for now. The only problem with finding her and Moon was that there were no leads. This pissed Gibbs greatly. There was no one at the scene and no cameras to see what happened. The only thing they had was the gun, the cell phones, and the fresh blood belonging to Moon. Everything is a dead end. There weren't any tire tracks that they could use at the end of the blood trail. It seemed the men were smart enough to put Moon carefully into the vehicle and making sure there footprints weren't there.

Three hours were wasted with nothing until Briggs came in with an astonished look while looking like he went to a nice rich party with his well-fitted suit and his shoes glistening under the light.

"I heard the news. Are there any leads?" Briggs asked as Phoenix and Lily shook their heads in defeat, "I knew this day will come. Phoenix, here's a device to find out Abby's whereabouts."

Gibb's eyes widened at what Briggs just said for a moment before he pushed Briggs against the wall in anger.

"Why didn't you give it to us sooner," Gibbs yelled in anger.

Briggs looked over at him for a moment before he said, "Because I was busy. I didn't know that Abby was kidnapped until after I finished with my affairs."

"To a party?" Tony asked, now angry. "Abby could be hurt by now while you were finishing with your so-called affairs!"

"Instead of thinking about beating me up and yelling, you guys are wasting valuable time with me," Briggs said calmly. Phoenix and Lily were surprised at Briggs calm attitude with everything, but they mainly focused on Abby's whereabouts. Gibbs let go of Briggs reluctantly; he knew Briggs was right and that finding Abby was more important. The Gibbs' team kept an eye on Briggs before Phoenix was able to get a signal and put on a large screen for all to see where Abby may be. A red dot appeared on the map and everyone rushed to get their gears.

"How did you get a tracking device on her?" McGee asked Briggs, curious and walked beside him.

"I'm not telling you. Just in case this device is needed again, no one will know until my deathbed," he answered before walking faster than McGee.

Gibbs was now at odds with Briggs. He did feel hinky the first time he met Briggs, and he will clash heads with him to get answers. But for now, Abby was important. The cars raced to the pinpointed location with police behind them. And without delay while being careful, the teams moved in along with backup.

What they saw before them horrified everyone. Moon's hands were tied up and hanging while his blood dripped to the ground with his only clothing being his boxers. He was unrecognizable at first but it was his skin color that helped the team to identify who he was. They immediately took him down and put him in an ambulance.

Gibbs eyes weren't on the Asian or on the criminals. His eyes were on a body of dark-haired woman. At first, he took slow steps but ran to her immediately. She was tied up to a wooden cross and wore a crown of thorns on her head. To shame her, they made her naked with her body badly beaten. Gibbs took out his knife and cut the rope that tied her wrists. He took off his jacket to cover and threw the crown away, not caring if he got hurt as well.

"Abby! Abby! Wake up! Wake up!" Gibbs yelled before giving out the most incredibly painful cry he could muster. The ambulance came by and tried to take her away but Gibbs couldn't let go of her. It wasn't until he felt movement that he opened his eyes to see Abby's hand holding his.

"G-Gibbs, I-I knew y-you w-would come," she tried to utter and smile before slipping into unconscious once more. This time he allowed the ambulance to take her but not until he was allowed to stay by her side for the whole ride.

Gibbs was overtaken by grief, and he didn't want the same thing that happened to Shannon and Kelly to happen to her. For once in a long time, he prayed for his beloved Abby to live. He was able to recover for Shannon and Kelly but taking Abby could be the one to make him go crazy. He made her his reason to live. She had been with him throughout the years and they shared an instant bond when they first met. She was supposed to his girl after tonight but he wasn't there to protect her from all the dangers. Now, he regretted not being there. And for the first time, allowed those men to attack her and even hurt her. He didn't have the time to attack the men that did this to her, but they will get rightly punished after he found Abby alive and safe.

"Please, Abby. Please live. Don't leave me like Shannon and Kelly did. I need you. I love you, Abby. So please, live," he whispered near her ear.

"_I can't lose you, Abby. I just can't_," Gibbs thought painfully before a few tears fall from his face. The first emotional moment he had in a long time.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Ah, I am so sorry for the very late chapter. I finally got to writing it. This is the last chapter everyone. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and the support they gave to me throughout this story. I am very happy that people liked this story, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Chapter Sixteen

Gibbs held Abby's hand while he watched her sleeping state on the hospital bed. It had almost been a week that Abby was in her coma. He could feel his heart starting aching again to see her face bruised from those criminals. He gave hell to those criminals. Oh yes, the day after he took her to the hospital, he made sure they regretted it. The two teams knew what to do and turned the blind eye to it. Those guys deserved a right beating from Gibbs. As for the excuse for their bruises, let's say they fought each other for being caught.

It didn't take long before Briggs explained his situation of why he didn't come sooner to rescue Abby and Moon. It was to put the mastermind of the group that killed and tortured the gay marine and the one responsible of telling those guys to hurt Abby and get rid of Moon in jail for good. The mastermind's name? Eric Owens. Following him to jail would be Eric Owens's father, Edward Owens and his right hand men. Due to the carlessness of Eric's men, they had found drugs and weapons, which they confessed it belonged to Edward Owens. Surprisingly, Edward Owens is the drug lord that Briggs tried to take down long before he became an NCIS agent.

"Gibbs, I know you are concerned about Abby, but you need to take better care of yourself as well. What will happen when Abby sees you are like this," Ziva told him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"If I was there, she wouldn't be tortured like this. It feels like I'm losing Shannon all over again except Abby's alive," Gibbs uttered, his voice hoarsed. He softly stroked Abby's cheek. He looked so hurt and in so much pain as he did so.

"And that's just it, Gibbs. She's alive. The doctors managed to save her and Moon. She'll wake up and you would be there to hold her in your arms. But to do that, you need to sleep and freshen up," Ziva told him once more. "Do you want Abby to wake up and see you in this horrible state?"

Gibbs thought for a bit before he looked up at Ziva, a caring face she doesn't usually show. Gibbs sighed and got up but still held Abby's hand as if it was hard to let her go.

"She will be all right. I will stay with her today," Ziva told him.

Gibbs didn't look at her. He was too preoccupied staring at Abby's still form. He managed to lean over Abby and kissed her softly on her forehead and once again stroke lightly on her cheek. It took a little while before he finally let go of Abby's hand.

"Watch her carefully. Call me immediately if anything happens, no matter how small it is," Gibbs told her. Ziva gave a small smile and nodded.

He left reluctantly and drove rather recklessly like always. When he got to Gibbs' mansion, he got out and looked at the house. He just stared at it for a good long while before he fell to his knees and cried. Gibbs felt weak. So weak. He held in his feelings for far too long and finally broke down. His heart was aching. His body was worn out. He just couldn't take it anymore.

Finally, after crying enough, he dragged himself into the house, quickly went inside his room, and closed the door behind him. He went straight to the bathroom. He was a mess when he looked in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot; his hair was in a mess; and he needed to shave. He let out a sigh before he took a shower and letting the warmth of shower overtake him and his pain.

After he freshened up, he lied down on his bed and remembered Abby lying beside him. Her beautiful drunken form against him as he held her close to him. Her sweet smell lingered in his nose before he held the closest pillow against him, imagining it was Abby right next to him. He knew it was a lie, but it was the only way he could sleep. Abby was going to be all right. He just knew it. Slowly but surely, sleep overtook him.

_Gibbs was lost and alone in the dark. He started walking, hoping to find a path to lead him somewhere. It was then he suddenly saw a figure in the far distance. He started to walk faster but soon broke into a run and stopped a foot away to see it was a female child. It was then the girl turned that Gibbs saw his daughter, Kelly, standing right in front of him. He ran to her and held the girl before him._

_"Daddy, how are you," the girl asked._

_"I miss you and your mother," he told her._

_"But daddy, you've moved on, haven't you," her childlike voice asked in concern._

_"Abby," he whispered._

_"Then don't be sad, Daddy. I'm here to tell you, it would be all right," Kelly told him._

_Gibbs let her go and looked at his young daughter who died too early. She suddenly faded, and it crushed Gibbs' heart. It was then he felt another presence behind him. He turned to meet Shannon. He froze at the sight of his late wife and raised his hand to touch her face._

_"Shannon," Gibbs questioned, surprise written on his face._

_"Yes, it's me, Jethro," Shannon told him softly._

_Gibbs soon held her in a hug and could only utter her name._

_"Jethro, it will be okay," she suddenly told him. "Everything will be okay, so don't lose hope. Never ever lose hope."_

_She soon faded just like Kelly faded. It was then Gibbs turned frantic, looking everywhere for them in the darkness that surrounded him. After a while of not finding him, Gibbs broke down crying. It was then a soft hand touched his head. He immediately looked up to see Abby. She was smiling at him softly. He noticed how she glowed and wore a white gown. She didn't say anything to him, only smiling warmly at him._

_"I love you, Gibbs," she signed before she gave a soft peck on his forehead. _

_He reached towards her but Abby shook her head and took a step back. Gibbs took a step forward, reaching for her. He almost touched her, but she disappeared just like Kelly and Shannon did._

_Gibbs eyes widened and soon..._

He woke up, gasping. He looked around to see he was inside his room, and it was already the next morning.

"_Just a dream_," he thought.

He covered his face with his hands and found out wet tears were on his face. He went to the bathroom and freshened up. When he just got out, his phone started ringing. He ran to it and opened the phone.

"Gibbs," he said.

"Boss, it's about Abby! Hurry up and come here," Tony yelled. Gibbs' eyes widened, and he broke into a run to his car and drove immediately to the hospital. He wasn't going to stop for anyone.

He sped to her hospital room. He saw everyone just outside her room, and it made his heart race. He opened the door. There, he saw the white blanket covering her body. He stopped breathing by then and slowly walked towards her. He pulled down the covers to see Abby's eyes still closed and still unmoving. The wires that used to connect her to the heart monitor were no longer in sight. He could feel his heart throb in so much pain and tears started to form in his eyes before Abby's eyes suddenly open and giggled.

"Gotcha, Gibbs," she yelled quietly. Her voice hoarse, maybe from being in the coma.

Gibbs' eyes widened but immediately hugged her. This is when he started breathing again. He let go and looked at her sternly

"Are you crazy? Do you know how much pain I'm in," Gibbs yelled. Abby smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Exactly. Now you know how I felt," Abby told him. Gibbs sighed before he held her in a hug again.

"Lesson learned," he told her before they gave a sweet kiss towards each other.

Back at home, Briggs went inside Abby's room to find Bert and a silver fox right next to each other. Briggs let out a chuckle and closed the door and made his way to the garden.

THE END


End file.
